Echoes of the past in trying times for Six Nations

The last time rugby was severely disrupted in Ireland was 1972, when the British Embassy in Dublin was burned down following the killing of 13 people on the streets of Derry by British soldiers.

Ireland had already beaten England 16-12 in Twickenham but there were rumblings that neither Scotland or Wales were prepared to travel to Dublin given the perceived instability. Two days after the England game, Scotland informed the IRFU that they would not travel. Six members of the IRFU, led by the then president Dom Dineen, went to Edinburgh in an effort to get the Scottish officials to change their mind.

But after a further meeting by the Scottish union, the secretary John Law read a prepared statement to the effect that the team would not travel because of fears for the safety of players.

Concern that Wales would soon follow Scotland were realised 10 days later and although the Welsh offered Cardiff or a neutral venue as an alternative, the IRFU were of the opinion that it should be Lansdowne Road or nothing and so rejected the proposal.

France, however, fulfilled their fixture that year much to the appreciation of almost 30,000 people in Lansdowne Road. Ireland, incidentally, won the match, giving them a 100 per cent Five Nations record that year. Given the current troubles over foot-and-mouth disease, history could be repeating itself with Irish wins over Italy and France already in the bag.