Rugby must act after attack on O’Driscoll
They knew exactly what they had set out to do, what they did, and with that mindset could not in conscience approach the victim to enquire of his well-being, let alone wish him well as he was being carried off.
This almost fatal behaviour cannot be glossed over as part of the game of rugby. Rugby owes it to itself and to the rest of the sporting world, not to mention the world generally, to make a telling example of this atrocious happening.
How the test can continue following that assault beggars belief. Brian and the players, no doubt, would want “to get on with the game”, but the implications of the action last Saturday puts it beyond the realm of the players and into the proper management of rugby and sport generally.
The very serious nature of this assault warrants the maximum attention by the Lions withdrawing from the tour. Sport and players’ safety come before commercial considerations.
On another point, the Haka used to be entertaining, but it is now tribal warfare with a vengeance. It belongs to a different world and no longer serves a proper purpose. It should be quietly put out of its agony.
Ted O’Keeffe
90 Sandford Road
Ranelagh
Dublin 6
