Spinal injuries ‘rare’ says foundation

Serious rugby injuries, such as the one that hospitalised a Feilding High School player, are decreasing, according to the New Zealand Rugby Foundation.

A teenager suffered suspected spinal injuries during a Feilding High School third XV game against Napier Boys’ High School at Feilding on Sunday in ‘‘a tackle that could have been in any game, on any day’’.

Since then the New Zealand Rugby Foundation, which supports injured players and their families, has been working to help the player.

The boy and his mother were flown to Burwood Hospital in Christchurch. On Monday afternoon, the teen was in a stable condition and was said to be awake and eating.

Foundation chief executive Lisa Kingi-bon said the number of spinal cord injuries was decreasing.

Kingi-bon said of the 87 spinal cord injuries in New Zealand in 2016, only two were from rugby. Of the 82 last year, only one was from a rugby incident.

There are 155,000 registered rugby players in New Zealand.

‘‘That’s because of the change in scrum laws,’’ Kingi-bon said. ‘‘Now, we’re seeing injuries in tackles.

‘‘Also, we’re seeing really excellent injury management.’’

The Rugby Smart programme, which teaches coaches and managers about safety, was helping with the decrease, she said.