Programme discourteous to rugby visitors
I understand the council was responsible for Saturdayâs match programme in Lansdowne Road.
It was bad enough that the programme cover showed only Munster players but inside we were treated to not two but four facing pages of pen pictures of the same players with nothing at all on the visiting team - not a line nor a word.
Further on in were two more full pages detailing the appearances of every Munster player over the past year. Still nothing on Perpignan. Thumbing through the programme, some of us were beginning to wonder if we were there to look in on a Munster training session.
The only mention of the visitors in the entire 76-page glossy production, apart from the small-font printout of the team in the middle page, was a single sentence by the Munster Council president, in English. One might think that the cĂșpla focal in French or Catalan would have been easy enough to come by but âwhy bother?â seems to have been the attitude.
How would people react if the Leinster Council, which is hosting the next round, behaved in similar fashion towards Munster?
The Catalan clubâs website made interesting reading this week. Despite showing understandable disappointment at the outcome of the match, the writer finishes thus: âParticular mention must be made of the Munster fans. Despite their loud and often ear-splitting support for their own side before and during the match they nevertheless observed âla silence de cathĂ©draleâ during the penalty and conversion attempts by the visiting kicker and all weekend long demonstrated an exemplary degree of conviviality and friendship towards their Perpignan counterparts. They deserve that their team progress to the semi-finals.â
Itâs just a pity the Munster Council - on this occasion, at least - failed to live up to the high standards of its supporters.
Billy Fitzpatrick
Ashfield Pk
Terenure
Dublin 6W
