The government was “outraged” after the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) took part in a rugby event in apartheid South Africa, state papers have revealed. Details of correspondence and government letters on the 1989 rugby tour controversy have been released by the National Archives as part of the 30-year rule. The event was held in celebration of the centenary of the South African Rugby Board (SARB). At the time, apartheid South Africa was under a blanket boycott by many international sporting bodies. It said that no Irish team at any level or any other team from Ireland was allowed to play in South Africa, nor would teams from that country be invited to play in Ireland while the remainder of the apartheid laws in South Africa existed.

Source: Irish Examiner December 30, 2019 05:15 UTC