Hard truths: This isn’t about rugby ‘going soft’
Newsthat a group of former high-profile players are planning legal action against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union should send a shudder through the game.
The eight men, whoinclude 2003 Rugby World Cupwinner Steve Thompson, are set to claim that the governing bodies failed to protectthem from the risks of concussion.
Thompson, 42, has been diagnosed with early onset dementia and probable CTE. Othersamongthe eight, who are said to be a test case for hundreds of other playerswith similar symptoms, have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury.
There’s plenty to unpack here and none of it reflects well on thosewhowhinged about the gamegoing soft whentwo players were sent off for high tackles in a recent Bledisloecupclash.
First, youfeel for any player whomight be suffering through these symptoms.
Themorewe learn about the head trauma that can be caused by playing contact sport, themoreweknowit’s not just about being a bit foggy or suffering somememory loss.
Players are literally being crippled by these injuries. They can’t stay awake, or endure loud noise and bright light. The lucky ones suffer through endless headaches and fatigue and have trouble seeing.
For those less fortunate, there is dementia or violent and suicidal thoughts. Americannflplayers, whose autopsies revealed CTE, have killed themselves.
We— and that’s all ofus involved in rugby— need to do whatwecan to help these men. They and their families are suffering andwe allknow it’s because of their chosen sport.
Saying so publicly is a problem, though, and one that thegamecan’t really afford. Rugby faces the prospect of bankrupting itself if these legal claims go thewayyouimagine they could.
Rugby is a toughgamethat’s often sanitised by television.
Evenup in the grandstand it’s hard to get a sense of just howbig andhowfast players are. Toappreciatehow significant the contact is and what thesemenare putting their bodies through.
Wesee it ontvand kid ourselves thatwecould play provincial or Super footy too. That so and so is a bit cowardly or over-rated and that it’s embarrassing blokes can’t go 80minutes these days.
That’s nothing compared to thedisgust somefolk feel whenthey believe a player has been unjustly sent off.
Allblacks prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Australia’s Lachie Swinton were both shownred cards— and subsequently suspended— for high tackles during last month’s test match in
Brisbane.
Critics claimed the penaltiesdidn’t fit the crimes. Sure, both players’ shoulders madedirect contact to the head of an opponent, but noonewas concussed or had their jawbroken.
Thiswasanoverreaction, wewere told, to the growing hysteria around high tackles.
If the examples of Thompsonand company, or former Allblacks such as Steve Devine, aren’t enough to convince people rugby needs to do something about brain trauma, then perhaps multimillion dollar settlements might or a further reduction in playing numbers?
Atsomepoint a group of current or former players are going to prove that rugby causedthem to suffer brain injuries and that governing bodies could have donemore to prevent that.
We’ve all seen players such asryan Crotty andsamcane suffer repeated head knocks and all wondered about rugby’s concussion protocols. Tellme you haven’t thought “how can these guys keep passing the Headinjury Assessments andwhydo they keep being put back on the field?”
Rugby needs to be on the right side of history here.
It needs to protect those peoplewhoare playing now, look after thosewhohave played and— perhaps most importantly— prove that it’s a safegamefor the next generation to play.
AMI a poor parent for allowingmyson to play? Am I, as a junior coach, knowingly putting other people’s children in harm’sway?
As parents, could anyof us live with ourselves if our children suffered brain trauma as a result of playing rugby?
I tend to be a vocal critic of professional rugby, but I aman unabashed fan of the communitygameand the benefits it brings people. However, we have reached a critical juncture inthe game’s history and the decisions madenowaround player safety will have repercussions for decades to come.
The diehards won’t have to worry about rugby going soft. If this process isn’t handled right, wehave rugby at all.