Power brokers must heed big guns’ grave warnings
Tactical subs need addressed . . . and soon!
World Rugby must be contemplating the contents of an open letter written to them and signed by a number of Lions legends, including Sir Ian Mcgeechan, which called for an end to tactical substitutions in the game.
The rationale for this – and something which was highlighted by former Wales captain, Sam Warburton, in his autobiography – was the increasing brutality of the game, and the risk of serious injury to tiring players if confronted by a fresh bruiser.
Warburton even indicated that a player could lose their life in an international match in the future – and that would be catastrophic for rugby.
Bringing on fresh players who only have to play around 20 minutes has always seemed against the whole ethos of the game.
As players begin suffering from fatigue, so gaps open up, and matches can be won and lost in the closing stages of the game, if the score is close.
That, really, is how it should be. The arrival of fresh legs – or “finishers” as England coach, Eddie Jones, calls them – negates the need for players to last the full 80 minutes and, yes, the risk of serious injury rises.
Going back to substitutes for medical reasons alone risks a return to the days of “Bloodgate”, and the practice of removing players who were tiring because of injuries that are tenuous at best.
No-one should forget the scandal caused in 2009, when Harlequins’ Tom Williams left the field with an apparent blood injury, allowing fly-half, Nick
Evans, to return to the action – after he had already been substituted – in an attempt to salvage a game against Leinster.
It later emerged a blood capsule had been used, the injury had been faked and Williams was banned for a year, later reduced to four months on appeal.
Members of the Quins’ backroom staff were also sanctioned, or resigned.
It was not a good look for the game, and we can’t risk returning to those days.
In the open letter, there is a suggestion that four replacements could be used, as opposed to the eight currently allowed for internationals.
If this is the case, then appropriate independent rigour has to exist before injury replacements are allowed.
That could slow the game down further, but there is no
doubt that this issue has to be addressed, and soon.
Warburton’s words cannot be allowed to be prophetic because player safety must come first.
Meanwhile, it almost feels like a normal rugby season is about to begin.
The summer tours are over, and international players are taking a well-earned rest before embarking on their pre-season routines.
Elsewhere, early-season “friendly” matches are being played around the country.
The one exception is the Super 6, which has kicked-off in earnest with a few weekends of matches already played.
It is going to be interesting to see what the effect of the pandemic has been on rugby clubs around the country as the game opens up again, particularly from a financial perspective.
Clubs will be hurting from the impact of Covid, despite the SRU’S emergency fund.
The only benefit for clubs is that they will not have had to spend money on travelling to and from away games.
But the income that they will have lost over the bar must be hurting more.
It will be interesting to see what the impact will be on playing numbers across the country.
Having missed a whole season, there may be an uptick in demand, as people want to get back to watching a competitive sport that has always had a strong reputation as being great socially as well.
On the other hand, without a year in the game, there is a risk that players may have drifted away, and found other activities to fill their Saturdays.
Of course, the 2019-20 season was abandoned, with no promotion or relegation, which upset a couple of clubs who had already secured their league titles. So it is back to square one for them.
With international travel more challenging due to quarantine regulations, particularly from Australia and New Zealand, the influx of overseas talent may also have impacted teams this season, so they will have to rely even more on the ability of their homegrown players.
That in itself, is no bad thing for Scottish rugby as a whole.
It is hard to imagine Scottish club rugby in rude health at the start of another season, and it may take a few years for the legacy of the pandemic to be unravelled.
Hopefully it will not have put off the fans of the game, who through their support provide clubs with much-needed finances to allow rugby to recover and flourish after a year most will prefer to forget.