Sir, I agree with Philip Collins (Notebook, Oct 13) that rugby league and rugby union appear to be split on class lines, or at least on north/south lines. But I don’t agree that union is the better game. Union, before it professionalised and became obsessed with using every conceivable tactic, fair or foul, to win games, was a superb game to watch. I have stopped going, though, because in the main it is no longer a spectator sport. League, on the other hand, is a glorious spectacle: fast, exciting, plenty to get involved with, and the players even seem to be fitter and faster.
By all means let’s join the two together, but with league rules.
Erica Stary
London N19
Sir, Scrummaging has become a contest to obtain a penalty rather than a test of the hookers (letters, Oct 13 & 15). The referee needs the (nearer) assistant referee and the TMO (television match official) to actively help in returning the scrum to being a fair, quick method of restarting the free-flowing handling game that we all want to enjoy.
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Andrew Keen
Pinner, Middx