Concussion having huge influence
CONCUSSION is not a disease. It cannot be treated with a plaster, a pill or two or massage.
Some people can be knocked in the head and simply shrug it off.
Others get an elbow to the jaw — such as Kane Barrett — and that can be their career all over.
Concussion is an injury which has no set diagnosis and no quick cure.
But one thing for sure — it is having a huge impact on the game.
A quick check of statistics shows an entire team of New Zealand professional players has been lost to the game because of concussion in the past decade.
All Blacks have given their livelihood away and top players have had their careers cut short and lucrative pay days lost due to concussion.
All Black Ben Smith has spoken about his thoughts of having to give up the sport last year because of the head knocks he received in 2017. One of them was due to an internal ear problem but the other two head knocks in a short period of time were concussionrelated.
No doubt plenty of All Black and Highlanders fans had their hearts in their mouth last
Friday night at Forsyth Barr Stadium when Smith came crashing down from a high take and landed on his back.
He got up all right but it looked ugly and the referee immediately stopped the game.
Concussion, described as a mild traumatic brain injury which temporarily affects brain functioning, has been in the game for as long as it has been played but has come into focus in the past five years as player welfare becomes more of an issue.
It can never be rid of in the game as it is a collision sport so concussions will occur. Although facts and anecdotes seem blurred in the concussion debate, most of them occur in tackles and most concussions affect forwards.
Last year, 17 All Blacks were affected by concussion, about a third of those who took to the field in the black jersey.
Former Otago midfield back Jayden Spence is back in his home town of Alexandra after having to give the sport away because of concussion.
He got a bad one in 2013 while playing club rugby in Dunedin and then picked up two in the past year while playing for Bordeaux in France.
He went to see two medical specialists in Paris after the second concussion and they left him with one option — retirement.
‘‘It wasn’t really a tough decision. I had a bad one and missed about four to five months. Then I played another five to six games and got another one and decided to pull the pin.
‘‘To keep playing was just not worth it . . . I felt groggy for a while but I’m all good now.
‘‘It was hard to walk away but when it comes down to it, it is your life and you’ve got your whole future in front of you.’’
The 26yearold is not sure what the future holds although he and partner Kate Davidson are due to have a baby in August.
Spence, who played 49 games for Otago, said becoming a father probably played a small part in him giving the game away but he had a plenty of good times to look back on.
His contract was up at Bordeaux but he would have stayed on if the club was keen. But his concussion meant negotiations never went far.