I despair at how rugby union has changed even when the rules haven’t. The scrum is one obvious area where the rules are ignored. The ball must be put in straight but never is. And why don’t referees penalise teams for standing up in the front row or wheeling?
Andy Orr, via email
I suspect Stephen Jones is a Welsh infiltrator of the England rugby squad selection process, so perverse is his analysis of the players’ performances. In the game I watched last week, Mike Brown played well in attack and defence, but Jones prefers Alex Goode, so Brown was marked down; the same process applied in reverse in respect of Luther Burrell - Jones abhors rugby league converts so Burrell is a ‘much better player’ than Sam Burgess, who was prominent in England’s win the previous week.
Tim Brown, Oxford
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I don’t understand why our hooker is unable to throw to the correct receiver at least 99 times out of 100.
Jim Sherjan, Tunbridge Wells
Stuart Lancaster said he would build a squad with hundreds of caps, because ‘that is what it takes to win a World Cup’. So why waste warm-up matches selecting novice players? Woodward’s squad warmed up by beating the All Blacks down under.
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Phil Dowell, Bridport
Your correspondent who thinks Lancashire is the White Rose county should avoid Lancashire and/or Yorkshire.
Peter Higgins, Saddleworth
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I agree with Tony Clarke (letters, last week) — why do referees in both codes of rugby make endless referrals to the TMO when they or their linesmen are in position to make the call?
Joe Pilkington, via email
I have enjoyed the cricketing and golfing summer, with the brilliance of Jordan Spieth and Joe Root, sportsmanship from the Kiwis and a rollercoaster with the Aussies. Now we return to football and rugby. Jose Mourinho belittles his medics and questions decisions, and Stephen Jones attacks Stuart Lancaster. Roll on next summer!
Tony Leek, Sudbury
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Your writers were quick to criticise England’s woeful scrummaging against France but none of them mentioned the pitch, with huge swathes of turf being displaced at almost every scrum, resulting in collapse after collapse.
Dick Grillo, Old Woking
Jose Mourinho can, he says, decide if a player is any good if he sees him play for 10 minutes.
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How long did he study Juan Cuadrado before casting him aside ? You don’t need to be a genius to see the potential of Everton’s John Stones, you just need £35m. Given his spending power I could probably do as good a job as Mourinho, and Dean Smith (the manager of Walsall, Chelsea’s next League Cup opponents) certainly could.
Kevin Platt, Walsall
A simple rule change would allow the referee to restart the game as soon as possible after a goal has been scored. If the team who have scored are celebrating in the opposing team’s half, they would be in no position to defend their goal at the resumption of play.
David Hegarty, Houghton le Spring
After the Friday of the Oval Test, Channel 5 showed footage of 10 no-balls delivered by Mitchell Johnson which were not called by the umpire. In theory, this negligent umpiring deprived England of at least 10 runs. What happens if there is ever again a Test as close as Edgbaston 2005 or Trent Bridge 2013?
Peter Cash, Stoke-on-Trent
Ed Smith talked about ‘playing your natural game’ in a crisis (last week). I don’t think those who bought tickets for the fourth or even third days this summer will agree. Both sides let us down by not being disciplined. Professional cricketers should surely be able to successfully adjust to the state of the game. Players aren’t even using common sense to watch and be patient for a few overs to get their eye in. It was a very poor Ashes series that England were lucky to win.
Peter Langworth, London NW1
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