Kiwis for piping

I wish to clarify a few issues surrounding the so-called ban on bagpipers at Rugby World Cup (RWC) matches here in New Zealand, especially where Scotland games are concerned (your report, 22 September).

I would hate to think that we are being seen in Scotland as being anti-bagpipes in general, as I believe we have more pipe bands in New Zealand than you do in Scotland. The issue seems to be a ruling by the WRC people against random pipers in the crowd at the games.

I am a social piper myself and I can assure you that I would never take my pipes into the crowd at a game anywhere as idiots are prone to tipping beer down your drones and interfering with you in general.

However, you can probably blame the South Africans as we have a lot of them here and the cup organisers were terrified that they were all going to bring those awful bloody horns to the games, hence the ban on musical instruments in general.

As far as organised piping is concerned, I don’t think there is any problem.

Last Sunday I went to the England-Georgia game in Dunedin, the “Edinburgh of the South”. The teams were piped onto the field by a large combined City of Dunedin pipe band (35 pipers and large drum corps) so all is well there.

Go the All Blacks.

Hamish McCallum

Clinton

New Zealand