TACKLING CONCUSSION HEAD ON

With rugby introducing contact at U9 age group level onwards, there are valid concerns regards player welfare around injuries like concussion, especially for players of such a young age. I have many friends and family, who have been knocked out cold, or experienced a head injury, playing the beautiful game - one of which had to retire before he left school. As a captain or coach, I always made sure that a parent, friend or wife of any player experiencing a knock to the head was made aware of the incident, and that they were closely monitored that afternoon or evening (and in the morning once the hangover had worn off). The governance around such injuries is much better than 20 years ago, with mandatory return to play protocols in place to allow the brain to recover. This now takes the decision away from the coach or parent, who, under pressure from victim, were always faced with the awkward dilemma of rushing them back too quickly.

So where do I stand on banning contact from rugby at mini or youth level? It's quite straightforward really. Both my lads played football when they were young (not very well it has to be said) as they did not engage with tag rugby, preferring to start playing once contact was introduced from U9 onwards. This did mean their hand catch, passing and game understanding were behind their peers, but their tackling technique was ahead. This was because I had invested time in the lounge at home from a very young age showing them how to tackle properly (cheek on cheek), and having learnt young, it became a real strength of theirs on the field (and helped minimise injury). If players only learn how to tackle as an adult, I am not sure this would mitigate the risk, as most senior players are 90kg+, so the cost of getting your head in the wrong position could be severe. I do agree that the "body wrap" tackle, that has come in recently from rugby league to prevent the offload, could be reviewed. This just rewards the "gym monkeys" who don't have the flexibility or technique to get down to ankle level to "cut the tree" like Joe Worsley used to for Wasps and England.

Interesting and important issue to debate, and one that (like Forrest Gump) will run and run...