Rugby authorities in Britain and Ireland were quick to react yesterday to an open letter from 70 prominent doctors and medical experts calling for a ban on tackling and contact in schools rugby.
Much of the response centred on the benefits of rugby in terms of building character with the English Rugby Football Union highlighting “We believe that rugby is a fantastic sport for children with many physical and social benefits.”
It also added that that “The RFU takes player safety extremely seriously and this is at the core of all the training that we deliver.”
The letter was sent to media and Government officials in the UK and Ireland with both the Departments of Health and Education on the distribution list yesterday morning.
Response
There was no direct response from either though the British Department for Education responded with a comment that “Team sports such as rugby play an important role in developing character. We expect schools to be aware of the risks.”
Commentary across Ireland centred on Anthony Foley’s common sense reaction that tackling is a critical learned skill, commencing at under age level, and to lose that learning period would be more dangerous in terms of introducing the tackle only once players had learned the other fundamentals of the game.
World Rugby released a statement yesterday refuting the claims of high risk of serious injury and outlining recent research which refutes the common perception of rugby as being riskier for younger children than other sports.
There is real danger though that once this idea of a ban has been made public that Government will be forced to act.
Safety
Questions of safety around the sport as a whole can much more easily be dismantled with reference to research and talk around the positive benefits of activity.
When it comes to children though things get much more emotive. This comes down to adults making choices on behalf of those who do not yet have the capacity to decide for themselves.
In areas of public health the rules regarding children’s access to substances such as alcohol and tobacco are far more stringently applied, without any question at all, than they are to adults though there is much evidence to suggest they should be equally applied regardless of age.
As many of those reacting have correctly pointed out there is risk in everything and a greater risk of damage to health through restricting the promotion of physical activity in all its many forms.
Rules
The danger though for rugby, which has been exposed by the doctors argument, is not that the sport should be banned, but that the rules be amended for younger players to avoid the more obvious physical clashes.
Under age rules are already applied differently in areas of England and Ireland with greater restriction on the breakdown in England at an early age.
Changes in equipment are common across all sports. in soccer and Gaelic Games smaller and lighter balls are used, in part to aid control of the ball but also to avoid the too early use of a heavier piece of essential playing kit.
These are changes which might have been resisted at the outset, such as with the use of hurling helmets or gum shields, but which have ultimately been adopted because they were the right thing to do.
Most importantly in this instance they also proved to be beneficial for the sports in question without materially changing the nature of them.
These are all changes within the rules and organisation of a sport. They can be argued over, adapted and modified over time to make them fit for introduction.
Fired up
The laws of the land are another matter altogether, and as has been proven time and time again, when child safety comes to the fore, legislators and the media get fired up very quickly.
This may be a fleeting chimera of concern, quickly dismissed with compelling arguments around safety first and enhanced training and coaching.
There is a danger though that it will be treated with greater interest, perhaps in the UK first where rugby has less of a common hold on the sporting consciousness but then quickly enough here in Ireland as well.
It should also be noted that if legislation were considered and introduced it would apply to Northern Ireland and thus have to be adhered to at least in part of the area governed by the IRFU.
Player welfare is never going to go away as a key issue for sport. When it applies to children the stakes become an awful lot higher and change can come about an awful lot quicker.
