MINISTERS URGED TO BAN TACKLING IN SCHOOLS RUGBY

THE Government have been told to ban tackling in schools rugby — the day after a legal claim was officially sent to the game’s governing bodies on behalf of brain-damaged former players. Academics from three universities will today publish an open letter to the UK’s chief medical officers urging them to advise ministers to ban contact rugby in schools and to take the decision away from the RFU. They will say: ‘It is now well established that players under the age of 18 are particularly vulnerable to concussive injuries because of the maturing and the dynamic neurophysiological state of the adolescent brain. ‘The situation whereby the RFU determine the rules of play for children, including in schools, cannot continue. ‘We are concerned that in failing to act to protect children from the tackle in the school game and by allowing the sport’s governing bodies to decide what, if any, information to collect, the British Government is exposing children to significant risk. ‘We call on you to advise the Ministers for Education, Health and Sport in all four nations to remove the tackle from the school game.’ The letter is signed by Dr Adam White (Oxford Brookes University), Professor Allyson Pollock and Graham Kirkwood (Newcastle University), and Professor Eric Anderson (University of Winchester). It comes after Rylands Law delivered a pre-action letter of claim to World Rugby, the RFU and the Welsh Rugby Union on behalf of nine players, with ex-Wales Under 20 centre Adam Hughes, 30, and ex-England Under 21 back row Neil Spence, 44, the latest to be named. The governing bodies have three months to provide their initial responses. In a statement, World Rugby said they would

‘take time to consider its contents’ and were ‘deeply saddened’ to hear the ‘brave personal accounts’ of ex-players. In an open letter, World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: ‘As a player who retired on medical advice in the early 1980s, I care deeply about the welfare of all players. ‘We must not, and do not, stand still. We commission, fund and collaborate on numerous research projects that will ultimately benefit players at all levels. This is our duty and we take it very seriously.’