Editor’s letter

Parenting is a thankless, almost impossible business. It is a constant battle of wanting to push and see if our children can find more within them against wanting to be cautionary and protective.

We want them to live life to the full, to explore their limits and broaden their horizons. And yet we don’t want to overexpose them to risk, to put them in the way of danger.

Children, as every parent knows, are a product of their environment and the best upbringings are holistic – expansive lifestyles that encourage participation in everything: academia, music, drama, art and of course sport.

The values of sport – and most particularly rugby - are hard to dispute: it encourages and promotes an individual work ethic for the greater good of the team. It fosters qualities of cooperation, communication, cohesion and friendship. Rugby is a life lesson. What is ingrained there can be transferred to each and every facet of adult life.

It also demands bravery, courage, mental fortitude and perseverance. Of course we want our kids to develop an understanding of those qualities and the exhilaration that comes with them.

And above all else, we want our kids to enjoy playing rugby. It is a great game – a place where they can make friends that will be with them for ever; a place where experiences will never be forgotten.

Inevitably, they will occasionally be hurt. There will be injuries. It is a collision sport – things will happen. We accept there is a risk, it is, however, not a prohibitive risk. Bumps and bruises are not something of which we should be overly fearful.

Again, this is a metaphor for life: our kids will suffer setbacks and disappointments. Brushing them off and seeing them as non- catastrophic is the route to success.

But we have to understand the ‘ she’ll be right’ philosophy has its limits. As much as we want to develop resilient, tough kids, we don’t want them to take unnecessary risks. As much as we want to apply perspective in regard to the dangers the sport carries, we don’t want to be oblivious and in denial to the possibilities that exist.

The tragic death of Northland teenager Jordan Kemp on July 6 was the saddest reminder of what can happen. Jordan died from a brain bleed following a suspected head knock he endured playing a club game in Whangarei. He’d been concussed earlier in the season but had followed all the protocols before returning.

He’d been passed fit to play and at the time of writing, there was no evidence to suggest the bleed he suffered was linked to the initial concussion.

The greatest fear of any parent is that they will lose a child and it is natural in the wake of Jordan’s death, for families around the country to be concerned about the potential dangers linked to rugby and in particular, concussion.

That’s why NZ Rugby World has joined forces with ACC, New Zealand Rugby Union and the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association to collaborate on a three- issue series.

Concussion has to be taken seriously. That’s not to say parents should panic and take their kids out of rugby. Not at all – what it means is that parents, coaches, players, administrators and even primary health care providers all need to be educated about best practice management.

Everyone needs to know what signs to look for if they suspect a player is concussed. Everyone needs to understand the need to remove the player from the field immediately if they suspect a concussion and then how to diagnose and treat it.

Everyone needs to understand the need to be honest and proactive in declaring a suspected concussion and just as importantly, everyone needs to follow the guidelines and advice about when and how to transition back to the playing field.

Most important of all is understanding that it is absolutely, never okay or the right thing to encourage anyone to cover up a concussion or pressure them into playing if they are or are suspected of being concussed.

Playing with concussion is deadly and it is most definitely not cool to think it is macho or somehow brave to be on the field after taking a major knock to the head.

We hope, then, that our Rugby Smart series on concussion will be well- read. We hope it will make compelling editorial in its own right but that also the consistency of messages from the elite players, medical fraternity and ACC will be absorbed.

By the end of it, we’d like to think the rugby playing population will be a little better educated: cognitive of what to do all the way through the process of removing, diagnosing, healing and returning to play.

We want our kids to be safe. Or at least we want them to do everything they can to minimise the risk of them being hurt.

So please, everyone, enjoy this great game. Keep playing but be sensible – don’t hide concussions or play through them.