Madam, - I refer to Hugo MacNeill's letter of October 6th. Luckily, living abroad I have been spared the unsavoury attacks on the people associated with the Ireland rugby team.
That said, we live in a professional age and, much more importantly, anyone who puts on an Irish jersey and represents this country is accountable to the people of this country. All of us, expert or not, have the right to give our views and judge the team and the people involved. There is, however, no place for nastiness.
This is the best Irish rugby team that has represented this country in my lifetime. But it is to date not the most successful. It has yet to win a grand slam. It has yet to win a Six Nations Championship and it has not progressed beyond the group stages of the World Cup. These are the facts.
The true test for this Irish team and its coach, Eddie O'Sullivan, lies ahead over the coming months. Can it overcome the adversity of this deeply disappointing World Cup and go on to win a grand slam? I, like many Irish people, will be hoping and praying for the success of which this team is capable. And the next time they take the field of play we will be roaring them on as ever before, even if for some of us it will be from a pub in Hong Kong. - Yours, etc,
ADRIAN O'CONNOR, Bowen Road, Hong Kong.