Dear Mr Cornwell,

I have read and admired all your work but especially Uhtred’s activities.

Did you ever consider that the way you describe his attitude to the shield wall is mirrored in an altogether more benign way in rugby union scrummaging before the present laws made what was a pretty savage affair altogether tamer.

I played club rugby at prop all over Yorkshire and the North for over thirty years and I and other retired old farts have often wondered.

Yours sincerely,

Mike Harper.