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World Rugby refutes proposed tackle, scrum ban for school rugby

Because of the high rates of injury associated with youth rugby, two experts from Newcastle University in England argue that tackle and other forms of harmful contact should be removed from the game, according to an opinion published in BMJ.

However, the World Rugby organization has strongly contested this proposal, stating that the expert conclusions are ‘extreme and alarmist’ and not well supported by injury statistics.

In their opinion piece, Allyson M. Pollock, MSc, professor of public health and director of the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University and Graham Kirkwood, MSc, senior research associate in the Institute of Health and Society, recommend that U.K. chief medical officers “act on the accumulating evidence” that demonstrate higher rates of youth injury for collision sports (including rugby, ice hockey and American football) than for non-collision sports.

In the English physical education curriculum, rugby union and rugby league are the most often played collision sports. According to Pollock and Kirkwood, previous study on the rates of youth injuries in school sports found that rugby, ice hockey and American football had the highest collision rates in school children.

Additional evidence has shown an increase in rugby-related injuries presenting at the ED in the United States, especially injuries of the head. History of concussion can also be linked to a reduction in social and educational measures and an increase in violent behavior in adolescents, according to the researchers. Furthermore, there is weak evidence to support concussion-reducing strategies such as wearing protective equipment, like mouth guards, the researchers wrote.

In Canada, banning ‘body-checking’ in ice hockey for children aged younger than 13 years has led to a decreased risk of concussion in the sport, demonstrating that limiting full contact and changing the rules in collision sports can benefit children, according to the researchers.

“The call for a cautionary approach and the removal of collision from school rugby and to end compulsion in the school game is likely to reduce and mitigate the risk of injury in school children,” Pollock and Kirkwood wrote.

The researchers advised the UK government to “put the interests of the child before the interests of corporate professional rugby unions and remove the tackle and other forms of harmful contact from the school game.”

In a statement, the World Rugby organization defended its approach to common safety issues, while noting significant concerns regarding the data Pollock and Kirkwood used to support their claims.

“World Rugby and its member unions take player safety and welfare very seriously and proactively pursue an evidence-based approach to reduce the risk of injury at all levels, the statement read. “Contrary to Pollock’s opinion, the systematic published studies where injury has been properly defined and monitored, suggest the risk for pre-teens is not unacceptably high compared to other popular sports.”

The statement noted that “Of course, as with all sports, there is some risk of injury associated with rugby and governing bodies have a responsibility to mitigate that risk as far as possible. That is why rugby for young people at schools or clubs exists in different forms, both contact and non-contact, and significant work has been undertaken over a number of years to develop a structured progression.”– by Savannah Demko

References:

Pollock A, Kirkwood G. Tackle and scrum should be banned in school rugby. BMJ. 2017. http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/09/25/allyson-pollock-and-graham-kirkwood-tackle-and-scrum-should-be-banned-in-school-rugby/.

Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.