Madam, - As one of several UCD Erasmus students present in the Ulster stand at Toulouse last January 21st and eyewitness to the incident involving "Die Hard Brennan", as a poster in his pub so ironically labels him, I am deeply perturbed by the reduction of Trevor Brennan's life ban from rugby.
I am perturbed also by his pleas for understanding and by the sympathy seemingly awarded to him by some members of the media (eg Gerry Thornley, The Irish Times, June 12th) and by professional rugby authorities.
Chants of the Ulster fans aside (and sitting not far from the sideline where Mr Brennan was standing I heard nothing that would warrant such a response), to see a professional athlete of Brennan's size and power march through the stand and repeatedly hit a spectator was the most shocking and violent incident I have ever seen at a sporting occasion. - Yours, etc,
TOMMY AYLMER, Bordeaux, France.