DON’T KNOCK IT

Summer touring has become a near annual way of life for Scottish rugby’s medical chief Dr James Robson for nearly 30 years, but next month’s trip to North and South America will carry extra poignancy.

As ever, it will clash with the birthday of his youngest daughter, who turns 20 in June. It will be the 17th occasion he has not been at home for the celebrations, although rugby-mad Emma has long been understanding of that.

An extra element of emotion comes as Robson reflects on the fact that his first-ever Scotland tour was also a transatlantic one and he recalls sitting on the plane to Vancouver in 1991 with Doddie Weir, who deeply saddened but also greatly inspired the Scottish rugby when revealing his MND diagnosis last year.

It has been a long, gruelling season for the players and, in turn, the medical staff who work tirelessly to keep them patched up, but Robson is as enthusiastic as ever about accompanying the Scotland team on another foreign trip in addition to the six Lions tours he has also been on.

The season rolls on into the summer but Glasgow’s elimination in the Guinness Pro14 semi-finals a week ago gives a window to reflect on another attritional year on the field and in the treatment rooms.

Robson, of course, has been, along with Dr Willie Stewart of Glasgow’s Southern General, been at the forefront of the campaign to highlight and deal with the issue of concussion in rugby and sport more widely over the past few years.

“There isn’t a day goes by when I’m not dealing with the subject,” said Robson.

“But what I would say is that I’m pleased with the amount of time and effort that’s going in to looking at it. For many years the culture was that it was a joke. It isn’t a joke. But I truly believe we’re still in the infancy of understanding what the implications are. So in the meantime it’s beholden on us to look at any process that would, in our opinion at the moment, make things safer.”

Earlier this season, Scotland captain John Barclay highlighted the fact that, despite the huge advances in head injury assessment protocols in recent seasons, there was

“We’ve got to look at the game, as we have with concussion. It’s hard to envisage a contact sport where injury is not going to be a factor but we should not accept high levels of injury.”

DR JAMES ROBSON