Danger never more than a stride away in sport of kings

Brian Moore was co-commentator for the BBC at the Stade de France last Saturday as Ireland and France pounded into each other for 80 of the most intense minutes of sport you could ever watch through your fingers and he was prompted to remark at one point on the copious quantities of claret oozing from the heads and faces of the players involved.

That Moore should notice the loss of blood was significant given no-one had symbolised the resolute Anglo-Saxon warrior more than the hooker who played for England in the 1980s and 1990s during what was a particularly feisty and even bloodier period in the sporting relationship between those old enemies from either side of the English Channel.

Rugby has changed beyond recognition from Moore’s day when the violence was casual and even a flair player like Pierre Berbizier could declare that if you weren’t able to take a punch then you should maybe try table tennis instead. These days the physical dangers are more associated with attrition caused by the sheer size of the participants and the violence of the collisions but then danger is inherent to all sports.