Roberts: Teaching kids to tackle properly is the key to safe rugby
Quins star defends the sport over calls to make junior rugby non-contact amid rise in injuries at the top level this season. By Chris Jones
GIVEN that Jamie Roberts has almost a decade of Test experience and is a qualified doctor, it is no surprise that parents ask him about the dangers of their children playing rugby.
The rise in the number of serious injuries among Premiership players this season has increased the debate around whether tackling should be banned in school rugby.
Roberts’ club, Harlequins, had 25 senior and academy players ruled out of last week’s match at Northampton — and that story is being repeated at almost every top-flight English team.
Writing for the British Medical Journal last month, Professor Allyson Pollock, of Newcastle University, called for school rugby to be made non-contact — a move the global governing body World Rugby branded as “extreme”.
Roberts, who graduated as a doctor in 2013, understands the concerns but believes the key to making rugby safer, while retaining the spirit of the sport, is to ensure that children are taught how to tackle safely.
“My gut feeling is that the benefits of rugby far outweigh the health risks — and the sport provides benefits socially and in terms of fitness,” said Roberts, who is set to face Sale at The Stoop tomorrow. “It is a collision sport and if you don’t want to play rugby, then don’t. Kids have an option.
“If they are playing and it is contact rugby, then it is very important that they are shown how to tackle properly. Coaching for kids has improved incredibly over the years.
“I get asked quite often by parents who are a bit wary of their kids taking knocks in rugby and I tell them that, while they may get an injury, the fun they will have and the friends they will make will shape them for life. I was