Beaumont hits out at ‘big hits’

World Rugby chief Sir Bill Beaumont has hit out an unhealthy obsession with ‘‘big hits’’ and sees some merit in limiting contested scrums at lower levels of the sport.

Beaumont, who is being challenged for the World Rugby presidency by former Argentina halfback Agustin Pichot, has decried the ‘‘glorification’’ of big hits, at the expense of skilful play.

‘‘If you go to a Premiership game and there is often a bigger cheer for someone getting wiped out in a tackle than there is for somebody doing a superb break and scoring a try,’’ Beaumont told The Daily Telegraph.

‘‘You look on Youtube – the compilations for biggest hits gets a lot more views than those for best tries or greatest dummies. I think that is very unhealthy. I would like to see more emphasis put on skill, dexterity, sleight of hand.

‘‘To me that is what the game of rugby is all about.’’

Beaumont, who is standing on a ticket with French Rugby Federation president and former France coach Bernard Laporte, expressed interest in France’s experiment with uncontested scrums at age-group level and for limits on how far scrummagers can push in amateur rugby.

‘‘The question I always come back to is, is this game right?’’ Beaumont told The Daily Telegraph.

‘‘Is it just a game now for big people? If you are not big then you can’t play at elite level?

‘‘Are there things we can do in the community game like they have done in France where they don’t have any contested scrums below a certain level in the game? That has reduced the injuries and increased the amount of people playing in the game.

‘‘We have to do everything in our powers to ensure the safety of players. That’s what we have to do and that’s what we will continue to look at in all areas of the game.’’

Beaumont also acknowledged, however, that rugby was a ‘‘physical, contact sport’’, which would always carry an element of risk, as other pursuits did.

‘‘If you go for a walk, you could get struck by a car. If you sit on your backside all day playing Playstation . . . you will probably end up getting obese and dying of diabetes.

‘‘All I am saying is there’s an element of risk we can never control but with the laws of the game we cannot afford to be reckless. That’s the way I would sum it up,’’ Beaumont said.