I HAVE spent three of the last four weeks travelling between London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin for rugby-related work. So, when a group of 73 academics and doctors in the UK proposed a ban on tackling in rugby at school level, I found myself involved in rugby‘s latest hot topic at the front lines.The proposal said the risk of injury to young rugby players is unacceptably high and, because most injuries happen during tackles, they should be banned in schools to protect children. That was supported by a research article that suggested an injury happens once a match in players aged between 9 and 18.And yes, most injuries do happen in the tackle, as dozens of studies on rugby injuries have shown.However, at some point facts fade and emotion takes over; the debate unravels into “us versus them”, a kind of good-versus-evil battle for either the purity of the sport, or the safety of the young rugby player, depending which side of the divide you occupy.So, I want to take this opportunit...
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