When interviewed or even on the few occasions I met him, his face adopted a pinched look when it came to matters New Zealand, as if he had been asked to suck a string of Brussels sprouts out of Her Majesty's bottom.
Reason's political philosophy was somewhere to the right of thinking that Genghis Khan was a pussy. He also had the world's best - before or since, I am sure - knowledge of rugby's rule book; he certainly knew them better than 90 per cent of the players and referees. Add to that a formidable, unwavering sense of right and Reason's copy always carried a sense of might.
When he died in 2007, several obituaries lauded Reason's ability "to tell it like he saw it". I have always regarded that as a poor reference. Our history books are full of people who told it like they saw it; acted on it; and caused great misery. Surely, it's more important to get it right.
I mention all this for context - to show how Reason junior might have inherited some of the Reason senior properties. Junior's exploration of the All Blacks' "cheating" mentions no other nations. Just little old New Zealand - clearly the Pol Pot of rugby - in his piece. Guess who the favourites for the RWC are?
Here's the thing:
* Professional rugby players will push the laws and the referees to the maximum to gain victory. QED.
* Cue up the same video Reason exhorts us to watch for the All Blacks' culpability - and see what the Australians get up to, particularly their illegal targeting of Richie McCaw.
* Look at the previous week's game and focus on the South Africans. All international sides do it. Including the Brits. No, gasp, surely not?
* Reason says don't blame the rugby refs - it's the players and coaches. Rhubarb. It's the IRB and IRB-entrenched, rule-quoting toadies like Reasons senior and junior who are at fault. The game's most important phases - the ruck and maul - are a mess, an unadulterated mishmash of interpretations and confusion which benefit neither referee, player nor fan. They encourage players to take out men without the ball - what should be an untarnished principle of rugby.
The game stands in peril of its own laws and its own dipstick lawmakers. It is what gives the professional players a chance to bend the rules. That is what Mr Reason should be addressing himself to.
I'd go one step further - anyone who writes such one-eyed twaddle immediately ahead of a World Cup can stand suspected of trying to do one thing only - bend the weight of refereeing opinion against the Cup favourites. What's worse? Stupid laws which create confusion and enable rule-bending; or someone who prefers to deal with the problem by calling only one team cheats?
While we are on the topic of RWC lunacy, how did Quade Cooper escape with no punishment after the obviously deliberate kneeing of McCaw last week?
At the risk of sounding an All Black paranoid, if it had been McCaw's knee on Cooper, the world would have echoed with the cries of pain and blood-lust from the All Black-haters. McCaw would have been sent to the electric chair and then sentenced to work in the salt mines.
It was a South African in charge of the decision to let Cooper off; a countryman of the video ref in the previous week's international where he improperly advised the ref of a forward pass to rule out an All Black try (a morally correct decision, I have to say, but improper nonetheless). Are we seeing a pattern here with South African officials when it comes to the All Blacks? I think we should be told - but probably won't be by Mr Reason.
Finally, Sonny Bill. What we are seeing is something quite new to this little country but common elsewhere: the art of brinkmanship contract renewing. All you have to do is troll through football websites in the UK when it is transfer window time. All manner of excuses and attitudes are adopted. It is commonplace for players to be kept out of sides while their futures are decided.
It's new here but is part and parcel of professional sport. We don't have to like it - but there it is. My pick on this is that the NZRU are working flat stick to fit Sonny Bill up with another endorsement of equal or better value; part of the work they do which we never see. If they can do that, problem over - though whether SBW stays for another year is a moot point.
It also remains to be seen whether he is being stood down, as this newspaper posited last week, to keep his powder dry for the Cup or whether he is being reminded that no-one is bigger than the game. Makes sense on both counts.
Which is more than can be said for Reason calling the All Blacks the only cheats in the world. His column had an interesting corollary - he declined to defend his view on a Radio Sport programme because, the show said, Reason maintained the subject was too inflammatory to do so without being paid. Which means he may not only be a cynical protagonist writing for effect, he is another pro-word as well. Professional. I meant professional. What did you think I meant?
