WHAT a terrific spectacle the World Cup is proving to be.

I refer of course to the senior game of rugby football, rather than to lowly association football; the whole atmosphere of which has more to do with culture than the shape of the ball.

The sight of teams picking up and running with a ball which the opposition try to dispossess them of - using fair means not foul - is indeed a gladsome experience.

It contrasts sharply with watching two opposing bunches of overpaid prima donnas kicking a ball (and often each other) using the foulest of tactics.

The best thing about rugby contests is the way in which supporters (notice not "fans", short for fanatics) mingle before, during and after the game.

It was great to see lowly Japan defeating South Africa against all the odds and Georgia doing the same against Tonga, with maximum crowds supporting the underdogs.

The stadiums of Wembley, Villa Park, St James Park will ring to the sound of "swing low" during this spectacular three weeks and hopefully association football will learn from the culture of the senior code of rugby football as time goes by.

Allan Charlesworth, Old Earswick, York