'The likelihood is we are going to see more' - Surgeon's brain injury warning for current players
There is every likelihood that current professional rugby players will suffer long-term brain injury as the incidence of concussion increases, a surgeon who worked for the Welsh Rugby Union has said.
The WRU, along with World Rugby and the Rugby Football Union, have been served with a legal letter of claim by a group of nine former players, including former England international Steve Thompson and Wales flanker Alix Popham.
The duo are part of the first generation whose entire careers took place in rugby’s professional era, during which it is accepted that the game has become more physical and that the force of collisions has increased.
Professor John Fairclough is part of the Progressive Rugby group which is lobbying the game’s governing bodies to introduce measures to make the game safer, including a return to a minimum break of three weeks if a player suffers a concussion. Popham is also part of the group.
He fears that the problems being suffered by the likes of Thompson and Popham now will likely be replicated in those still playing who will retire over the next five years.
Citing a study in the Welsh professional game carried out by Cardiff Metropolitan University between 2012 and 2016, Prof Fairclough told the PA news agency: “Over a four-year surveillance period the number of concussions was increasing.
“The likelihood is we are going to see more (players with long-term brain injury). In the 30-odd years I’ve been sitting pitch-side there has been an increasing number of people with head injuries so if we’re exposing more, yes we’re going to see an impact.”
Prof Fairclough is set to give evidence to a parliamentary inquiry examining the link between playing sports and long-term brain injury next week.
He feels the reduction of unnecessary risk is key to minimising the likelihood of players suffering neurodenegerative disorders later in life.
“The pressure of the boards is to get the best players on the pitch for as long as they can,” he said.
“There are slightly different viewpoints. They don’t want to harm their players but they want to err on the side of their business. What we’re saying is that at some point there needs to be a recognition of being on the side of safety.
“We don’t want to kill the sports with litigation. If there is a litigation case that is correct, of course that must go ahead,” he said.
“But let’s try and remove those factors which we can remove. What we have to do in rugby and football is to reduce the risk so that the game can carry on in a safe way.”
The MPs on the DCMS committee will hear from Professor Willie Stewart on Tuesday.
The FIELD study he led at the University of Glasgow published data in 2019 that professional footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disorders than age-matched members of the population.
Since then, the national football associations of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland have advised coaches to avoid heading in training for children aged 11 and under.
A working group is also looking at the possible introduction of limits on heading in training at the senior professional level.
Repetitive heading of the ball was the cause of the brain injury which led to the death of former England and West Brom striker Jeff Astle aged 59 in 2002, according to the coroner in his case.
His daughter Dawn, who has campaigned for greater research into the link between heading and brain injury, is expected to give evidence to the committee at a later date.
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It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments