World Rugby must do the right thing on concussion
FOrMEr England international Steve Thompson, just 42 yet who can’t even remember winning the 2003 World Cup, is fighting for compensation after claiming the head knocks he received playing rugby led to his early-onset dementia.
regardless of the outcome of his legal challenge, it is vital that World rugby do everything in their power to ensure the risk of others being diagnosed is kept to a minimum going forward.
rugby is nothing if not a contact sport and head knocks will never be totally eradicated. but the governing body need to keep on top of the situation and look at ways to make the game safer while at the same time retaining the physical element.
it’s a fine balancing act and there’s no doubt more needs done to protect the players on the pitch and especially at training.
rules must be introduced to cut down on the number of scrum drills and full-on tackle sessions away from match days which will help reduce the number of unnecessary collisions players suffer. it will be hard to police at first as players adjust but, with clear guidance from above and a bit of common sense f r om coaches, it would go a long way to reduce the head knocks suffered.
On the park, policing the tackle is more vital than ever. red cards must be shown for dangerous no-arms tackles or high ones. There should be no exceptions.
referees also need to come down harder on players flying into the breakdown. An all-too-graphic illustration of how dangerous that can be came in Scotland’s nations Cup match against ireland.
Stuart hogg was crouched over the ball, head and neck facing the ground, when Andrew Porter, with iain henderson pushing him from behind, came flying in and hit hogg head first.
They knocked the Scotland captain back ten yards at an incredible pace and he was lucky not to be badly injured. no action was taken and play continued.
Parents will watch that incident go unpunished and think twice about letting their children play rugby. Equally, their fears will be increased when they hear about Thompson’s claims that he was left mentally impaired by repeated concussions he picked up on the pitch. A future generation could be lost to the game completely unless parents are convinced their kids are being looked after.
World rugby chairman Sir bill beaumont is in the ideal position to give such assurances and drive change — he knows first hand the dangers of concussion.
now 68 years old, he had to retire from rugby back in 1982 at the age of 29 on doctors’ advice after successive concussions and neck problems. his son Josh had to pull out of an England tour of Argentina back in 2017 due to concussion.
beaumont senior underwent neurological tests as part of the sport’s research into potential links between concussion and dementia back i n 2018 and thankfully did not show any symptoms.
Ever since Sportsmail revealed two months ago that Scotland legend roy Laidlaw had been diagnosed with dementia, there has been an outpouring of sympathy for him. As one of the nation’s best-loved sportsmen, the 1984 grand Slam scrum-half has been overwhelmed by the support he has received.
There are sure to be other rugby players, from both the amateur and professional eras, who are diagnosed with early- onset dementia in the years ahead.
it is up to World rugby to ensure they are all looked after, whether they are threatened with legal action by them or not.
SO what will it be for Scotland ? A dream 2023 World Cup draw with Wales and Japan? Or the group of death with world champions South Africa and France? All will be revealed in Paris today when the draw for the 20-team tournament takes place. The seeding system was based on the world rankings at the end of the 2019 World Cup, which does Scotland no favours. They crashed out at the group stages, which left them in the third group of seeds. The top-ranked sides are South Africa, New Zealand, England and Wales. The second group is made up of Ireland, Australia, France and Japan, while the third pot of seeds contains Scotland, Argentina, Fiji and Italy. The remaining eight teams will come through the global qualification process which kicks off later this year and will be allocated into tiers four and five, based on their relative strength. Scotland have only themselves to blame for being so low down in the draw but let’s hope they carry a bit of luck and are handed a kind group.