Rugby fans – all together now

■ What a year it has been for Irish rugby! Following the Grand Slam, we now have Leinster crowned kings of Europe. Every true Irish rugby supporter will applaud Leinster’s success as we should that of any Irish team in international competition.

In my view, such teams should be regarded as a surrogate for the Ireland team, with local rivalries set aside. I was saddened to hear reports of some Munster supporters in Bilbao sporting Racing colours, Donnacha Ryan notwithstanding. Some Leinster supporters have been guilty of similar displays in the past, during Munster’s glory days.

This kind of insular attitude is one of the less welcome aspects to come from soccer, where there is a growing penchant for the concept of ‘AB’ –offering support for ‘Anyone But’ their local rivals.

This kind of thing is especially sad given how Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht all came together, both playing squads and supporters alike, for Ireland’s historic Grand Slam achievement, crowned at Twickenham a few short weeks ago.

The Irish rugby family is too small, and has been through too much together, for an ‘AB’ culture to take hold. Instead, let’s have a healthy rivalry based on mutual respect. The Dublin-Kerry GAA rivalry of the 1970s and 1980s would be a useful template.

Sean O’Donnell

Monkstown, Co Dublin