SIT DOWN!

Since Landsdowne Road was rebuilt as the Aviva Stadium a few years ago there's been a lot of criticism of the lack of atmosphere at the ground. Part of the problem stems from the high ticket prices for international matches, which mean that a lot of the seats are bought by big companies to give to fatcats from other big companies. Those people don't do a lot of cheering. The match against New Zealand in November was an exception, but most of the time there seems to be a pretty big divide between the pitch and the stands. 10 years ago you'd be sick of the sound of The Fields Of Athenry midway through the first half. Now it's rarely heard before the last few minutes of a game. Alan Quinlan has been a particularly strong critic of what Roy Keane would call "the prawn sandwich brigade". I'm with Quinny in his campaign to get the crowd into their seats before kick off. The idea that an Ireland team would run out onto the pitch in front of a half-filled stadium while the so-called fans are queuing up for over-priced, watered-down beer is a disgrace. It's a disgrace Joe.