Hargreaves: Law changes could destroy Union ethos

ALISTAIR Hargreaves was forced to retire at the age of 30 after suffering a fifth concussion in two years when he collided with teammate Michael Rhodes during a training session at Saracens.

Concussion was a pressing concern for World Rugby then, but this year a number of former players suffering from early onset dementia started legal action against the governing body as well as the Rugby Unions in England and Wales for allegedly failing to protect them from the risks of concussion and

sub-concussive injuries.

A report this week by the Drake Foundation following a study of a group of current elite players found 23 per cent had changes in their brain structure while 50 per cent had a reduction in brain volume and a four-month inquiry by the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport concluded that sports’ governing bodies should be subject to a UK-wide minimum standard definition of concussion to be used across all sport.

World Rugby has announced a number of law trials starting from next month which intend to reduce the number of collisions in a match by encouraging teams to seek space rather than contact.

The RFU has also announced there will be a reduction in the time spent on full-contact training in England, but Hargreaves is concerned that the game will come to be almost indistinguishable from Rugby League.

“It is an emotional conversation for me, one that is quite loaded, and I am particular in what I say,” he said. “We all knew what we were getting into when we played the game. Since I started my career, it has made massive strides in terms of player welfare and it is, by and large, a much safer sport now.

“Any game which revolves around big collisions will have an element of risk and it is all about minimising it. I have done a lot of research into this and it is about ensuring everyone has the skills to recognise concussion and treat it correctly so that no one goes back on to the pitch when they should be nowhere near it.

“I cannot agree with the idea that there should be no tackling in schools rugby because you cannot take collisions away from the game. I would hate anything that took away from the fabric of what the game is really all about.”

Hargreaves believes initiatives like the law trials, one of which would see the attacking team awarded a lineout in their opponents’ 22 if they kicked the ball indirectly into touch from deep, a change World Rugby believes would forced defenders to drop deeper and so create space behind the defensive line, are approaching the problem from the wrong angle.

“Why is the focus not on the number of matches players appear in every year?” he asked. “The reasons they play in so many are commercial and the number is too high. Player welfare should not be about solving a problem once it has happened but tackling it at its source. Players need breathing room.

“They will not be thankful for it because they want to play as much as possible, but they have to be properly looked after and there are so many horror stories now, from a lifestyle perspective, not just concussion. The last few seasons in the southern hemisphere have been ridiculous, squeezing in any number of games to fill the coffers.

“You cannot limit collisions in a match. Guys are bigger and stronger and the game has become more physical. You cannot disconnect physicality from the game. Fewer collisions and it becomes a game I might not have played. The beauty of rugby is anyone can take part. Take away collisions and it becomes like Rugby League, players with similar skill-sets and roles and that would be sad.”