When Holland beat Brazil 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the football World Cup in Port Elizabeth’s Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in 2010, TV viewers all over the world complained about the incessant droning of the vuvuzelas. The long plastic horns were a persistent accompaniment to South Africa’s first football World Cup, a loud instrument without any redeeming musical qualities. On Saturday, when Leinster faced the Southern Kings in the same impressive venue, how the Guinness Pro14 organisers must have wished for such a din. There were just 3,011 fans at the game, officially at least, although it appeared highly unlikely that the numbers inside the stadium came close to four figures. The presence of Isa Nacewa and Jamison Gibson-Park, the two players denied entry to…

Source: The Times September 17, 2017 23:26 UTC