This Rugby Fan Gets Some Satisfaction

Who says no one hears the voice of the fan?

After a Soviet rugby player broke Australian captain Nick Farr-Jones’ jaw during a tour match against Sydney in March, Craig Moran fired off an angry letter to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Thursday, Moran received his reply, and then some.

Wrote Vladimir Ilyushin, Soviet Rugby Federation president: “We can only agree with you that rugby is the game for gentlemen and there is no room for roughness on the pitch (field).

“We inform you that after returning from Australia Victor Masyura is dismissed from his job as the U.S.S.R. national team coach while players Igor Khoklov and Alexander Bychkov are withdrawn from the U.S.S.R. national team.

“We hope Nick Farr-Jones has recovered and plays the rugby as good as before that sad incident.”

Add rugby: Farr-Jones expressed shock at the banishment, especially of the coach, who was not involved in the incidents.

“What I can recall of the game is that the Russians got a bit frustrated with the referee,” he said. “The match was (whistled dead) every couple of minutes and they didn’t fully understand the reasons why.”

Queensland Rugby Union executive director Terry Doyle, who organized the Soviets’ tour, said, “The two players have literally been sent to Siberia,” adding that Soviet coach Masyura was one of the “nicest blokes” he had met in 10 years.

Trivia time: Who was the last member of the Philadelphia Phillies to lead the National League in hits?

Fixer-upper: Coach George Seifert of the San Francisco 49ers recently offered a variation on his team’s “three-peat” theme with this remark:

“Last year, I mentioned that my fishing boat was in pretty bad shape, so after we won the Super Bowl, (49er owner) Eddie DeBartolo bought me a new boat. If we win the Super Bowl again, you can be sure I’ll mention my small three-bedroom house.”

Free advertising: From Steve Jacobson of Newsday: “Do not watch the PGA Championship on television next month. Make other plans. Buy a Toyota and go to the beach with a cooler of Anheuser-Busch. Take a trip on Delta. Work overtime on an IBM computer.”

Just kidding, baby: Former Raider defensive end Ben Davidson recently appeared at a roast for San Francisco 49er safety Ronnie Lott.

He brought up Lott’s surgery to remove the tip of his pinky.

“Ronnie had his finger cut off so he could play,” Davidson said. “That’s nothing. That was part of the Raiders’ initiation. When the Raiders tore loose a body part from another player, we always returned it. We called it, ‘replacing our divots.’ ”

Trivia answer: Pete Rose, with 140 in 1981, the strike-shortened season.

Quotebook: Atlanta announcer Skip Caray, reporting a crowd of about 6,000 at a Brave home game: “It’s a partial sellout.”