I went to Twickenham on Saturday to watch the England v All Blacks international (England sunk by inability to think quickly under attack, 10 November). As a lifelong rugby fan, a straight man in his 60s, I could not believe that a bunch of men half my age watching a rugby match in the 21st century could be capable of hurling such nasty, foul-mouthed, racist, homophobic abuse at an openly gay match official. My equally disgusted son is in 30s, but next to him, hearing this vitriol, was a little boy; I felt ashamed.
I did speak to the men after the match, but they were not in a fit state to engage in sensible discussion. I suspect that if it had been in a football match they’d have been thrown out. There was a time when you could trust rugby supporters to take alcohol into a game and behave like grownups. The time has come to treat rugby louts like football louts – no alcohol in the ground, zero tolerance to bigots.
Keith Wilson
Loversall, South Yorkshire
• Though they lost narrowly to the All Blacks, the England rugby team acquitted themselves well at Twickenham on Saturday. As usual, the same cannot be said of the 82,000 unsporting yahoos in the English crowd, who drowned the sound of the haka, and booed the All Black kickers. As a keen New Zealand rugby supporter who has lived within 20 miles of Twickenham for 40 years, I gave up going there to see the All Blacks years ago, as I did not like being surrounded by xenophobic yobs who knew little about rugby. There is a marked contrast when I go to see Wales v the All Blacks at the Millennium Stadium, where I enjoy being surrounded by Welsh partisans who can appreciate and applaud good rugby from either side.
Ross Anderson
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
• Well done, Guardian Sport. Six pages of soccer, three pages of rugby union and – after two terrific rugby league Test matches – two columns about a player breaking a door (Hodgson embarrassed but set to escape with just paying damages on broken door, 10 November). Perhaps rugby league should get the Lib Dems’ sponsorship and get better coverage.
Mike Rafferty
Workington, Cumbria
