Australia to trial concussion blue card

The Australian Rugby Union is taking a lead on concussion management by trialling a special blue card in various senior competitions in 2018, including the National Rugby Championship and Women’s University 7s tournament.

After trials last year in the Hunter, Newcastle and ACT regions, the ARU introduced a blue card for the Australian Schoolboys Championships in July in what was the first time the card had been used in a proper tournament.

Referees now have the power with a blue card to remove players from the field who they feel may be showing symptoms of concussion.

Players have to follow a set of medical guidelines before they can return to the field in what is a great initiative put forward by the governing body that other football codes are yet to follow.

The ARU has confirmed the blue card will be used during the NRC and Women’s Uni 7s tournament from next year. The NRC is Australia’s equivalent to New Zealand’s NPC, the Mitre 10 Cup.

As for the club rugby, the ARU is consulting with the Sydney Rugby Union to implement the card in all competitions, including the Shute Shield.

Research and education associated with the blue card has been made possible by a number of foundations, notably the Nick Tooth Foundation.

Nick Tooth, 25, died playing rugby for the Quirindi Lions in a Central North first-grade game two years ago. His sister, Alex, said her brother’s death was a devastating blow for the family, which is why they have worked tirelessly to support such initiatives as the blue card as well as the overall research of concussion.

‘‘People shouldn’t die playing sport and the fact my brother died playing rugby union is unthinkable and it’s not fair,’’ Tooth said. ‘‘We don’t want anyone to have to go through this again. We’re not trying to scare people, we’re not trying to make it hard for people to play rugby, we just want people to know that we’re just trying to make it as safe as possible.’’