Not so gentle men
From Dr Craig Gerrard Sir: Michael Henderson is so right to imply that football has much to learn from rugby, a sport which in his words 'abounds in goodness' (Sport, 11 October). However, I feel that he doesn't go far enough. Rugby Union is, after all, a sport where a leading international player's idea of a chat-up line is to pass himself off as a criminal to an investigative reporter; where the England national team behaved like a bunch of British Leyland shop stewards just a couple of years ago; where a member of a Scottish Borders club was taken to hospital after having a snooker cue inserted in his rectum by his team mates during a stagnight party; where players can be found
flashing and mooning at passers-by while indulging in their post-match sing-alongs; and where, when we finally reach the pitch, the 'gentlemanly' acts of raking and eyegouging can be observed at a frequency that would make the most cynical footballer blush. Yes, as bad as our football followers and players may be, they still have a lot to learn from what Mr Henderson describes as the 'real men' of rugby.
Craig Gerrard
Liverpool
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