'It was incredible, it proves that the system is still flawed'
Kyran Bracken thinks it’s high time rugby got its house in order. The former England scrum half believes concussions are not being dealt with properly and his frustrations were only compounded last weekend when head injuries were mishandled in two different England international fixtures.
Italy was the setting for both incidents, the first involving England winger Jack Nowell at the Stadio Olimpico. After getting hit on the head in a tackle, Nowell was not immediately removed from the field for a HIA assessment. Instead, the referee rushed the initial medical examination which meant that Nowell remained on the turf. Minutes later the Exeter talisman was called in for an overdue assessment and subsequently failed his test, highlighting a huge oversight by the officials.
The other incident was not as widely televised but still left much to be desired. The England team in action this time were the U-20s and it was winger Deago Bailey who suffered the injury, landing on his head after being taken out in mid-air. He looked to be in serious pain after the topple and so independent doctors instructed the referee to send Bailey in for a HIA. The referee correctly adhered to the demands but the decision angered the English medical staff who disputed the call.
Since retiring from rugby, Bracken has joined Progressive Rugby, a lobbying group demanding better protection for players at all levels of the game. It comes as no surprise then that both events last weekend left Bracken incensed.
“It was incredible, it proves that the system is still flawed,” Bracken told RugbyPass. “These were two different situations but both were very dangerous. The U-20s incident worries me because independent doctors were there. The referee should be applauded for how she dealt with it but the reaction from England’s doctors was dangerous.
“What happened shouldn’t be called a concussion, it was a brain injury. The problem is the doctors were in combat mode, game mode. Any doctor I speak to says they would never let a player stay on with a head injury but it’s very different when you’re trying to win a game.
"@EnglandRugby medical team are saying we've assessed him, we're saying he's fine.
"Aurelie Groizeleau stood her ground."
Concerning clash of opinions between the independent & team doctors over a HIA.@MolloyJoe, @jennymurphy045 & @AlanQuinlan1 discusspic.twitter.com/nkK6ncvPLo
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 14, 2022
“The pressure on medics and coaches to have the best players on the pitch is huge. Doctors employed by clubs know that the most important players in the side need to stay fit. That’s why we need the independent doctors. They don’t have skin in the game.”
Unfortunately, medical experts were not the only characters at fault for the mistakes made last weekend. Referees were too.
“Nowell’s brain injury was bad in a different sense,” Bracken said. “The game was restarted and the referee let the player stay of the pitch. I sympathise with the referee in the sense that it took far too long to get on with the decision but he got the call wrong. He should have forced the player off regardless, straight away.
“We don’t want to delay the game but if the independent doctors aren’t happy, then a player needs to come off. If he’s alright and he passes his HIA, then he comes back on.”
Even though Nowell remained on the field for a short period of time after sustaining his head injury, he still could have suffered serious physical repercussions. To push this point, Bracken draws comparison with the case of Ben Robinson, a schoolboy rugby player who received multiple blows to the head in 2011. He stayed on the field and subsequently died as a result of these physical ailments.
Luckily Nowell did not stay on the pitch long, but the oversight to even keep him on for a short while shows that rugby still has much to learn. And this does not just affect the professional game, but the amateur arena as well.
“How does a coach in the eighth division treat a head injury,” questions Bracken. “I coach at club rugby level and have seen so many instances where a player isn’t right and just carries on.”
That is why Bracken wants law setters to introduce the blue card system. It would give referees the power to remove players from the field which they felt were suffering head injuries. The change which Bracken and his compatriots at Progressive Rugby want to implement does not stop there.
Further suggestions include reducing the number of substitutions available – excluding the front row – introducing a database which tracks players with hits to the head and lowering the amount of contact drills exercised in training sessions.
“I think we can do simple stuff that can make it safer,” Bracken said plainly. “It’s not difficult. We’re trying to point out the anomalies.”
One of the big talking points around this subject at the moment is the class action lawsuit being raised by former league and union players against World Rugby and the RFU for gross negligence. Although Bracken suffered head injuries during his career, he has abstained from joining the suit, believing that the legal claims will delay the implementation of positive change in rugby.
“World Rugby are notoriously slow at decision making and will not want to change the laws too much,” he said. “And can they really change everything without admitting they have liability? That’s why I think the legal case is holding it back.”
Bracken wants change now, especially as it seems to be so evasive at the moment. Only last year, Exeter hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie was knocked out cold in the Premiership final but then a week later returned to the field to play for the Lions. To highlight the lunacy of this, Bracken references the boxing bout between Amir Khan and Kell Brook this morning.
“Imagine if Brook gets knocked out, is unconscious for fifty seconds and then turned around and says he was having a fight the next week. There would be an outcry. Why is it different in boxing? Well, it’s because they’ve had deaths in the ring.”
Bracken’s point is a clear one – is rugby blindly waiting for the worst to happen?
Comments on RugbyPass
Good to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
16 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
16 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
16 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
16 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
16 Go to comments