Worsley: Cut season length to safeguard the players
JOE WORSLEY insists the length of the Top 14 season must be cut and contact sessions in training dramatically reduced to protect players amid the ongoing issue with concussion.
Former Wales captain Ryan Jones last week revealed he has been diagnosed with early onset dementia aged 41.
England World Cup winner Worsley, who is joining the Ampthill coaching staff after nine years as a defence coach in the Top 14 with Bordeaux and Castres, is concerned with the workload players are subjected to.
“I think players play too much, and people who do contact in training need to wind it in,” said the 45year-old. “You need to protect the players. There’s a lot of research out there about the running load, and we are starting to get an idea about the contact load.
“You need to be fit for the collision load. It’s not something you can just dive into because I think that could be as bad as doing too much.
“We need to find the sweet spot where players are comfortable to get their heads in the right position to carry through. They need to understand the laws, and how to negotiate a collision safely.
“They can’t do it too much because at some point it is inevitable, they are going to get a knock. That’s the balancing act they’ve got to find but there’s a lot of research that needs to be done.
“We’ve got to stop people making contact with the head. Orange cards are an interesting proposition. People have got to adapt their technique, and their approach to contact to stop head knocks happening.
“My first training session with Castres was the day after the previous season’s final. It was 11 and a half months. That’s insane. It’s far too much rugby.”
Following a successful stint in France, Worsley is concentrating on completing an MSc in Sport Pedagogy while working as a consultant with Ampthill, Georgia, St George’s School in Harpenden, and a lower-level French club.
“I’m excited to be working with Ampthill, and also Paul Turner who I know very well,” he said.
“There’s a long-term plan for Ampthill to compete at the top of the Championship, and hopefully it comes to fruition. My objective is going to be purely getting the team playing better and helping the coaching group do that. I think I can help improve the players.
“I’ve never coached in the UK before so I’m excited to be at Ampthill. Then after the World Cup I’ll hopefully go back into fulltime coaching.”
Having spent several years in France Worsley is well-placed to pinpoint the reasons for France’s resurgence on the international stage.
“Fabien Galthie coming on board was huge,” he said. “He’s a well-organised coach who knows what he wants. What he wants is organised discipline, which is a side of the game France haven’t traditionally been good at. Shaun Edwards has come in and brought the nous of how to do that, while the Toulouse players bring this ability to kill the game and react and snap the opposition when they see the chance.
“There are some key differences between the Top 14, and the Premiership. The culture you put in place at one club in the UK can be different to another one but certain things which work in the UK would never work in France especially motivation wise.
“The ability of people in France to think away from organised cognitive thinking is better than the guys in the UK. In the UK, a lot of talk surrounds organisation but in France they are more capable to reacting to what is happening in front of them.”