Should tackles and scrums be prohibited from school rugby fields?

Scientists push Government to ban tackling and scrums in school rugby

In a new opinion piece published in a leading medical journal, academics said that tackles and scrums should be prohibited on school playing fields.

Removing collision from school rugby is likely to reduce the risk of injury, experts said.

Schools should ban “harmful contact” from rugby games, experts have said.

Allyson Pollock and Graham Kirkwood from the Institute of Health at Newcastle University argue that most injuries in youth rugby occur due to the collision elements of the game.

Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), they said that ministers should “put the interests of the child before those of corporate professional rugby unions”.

Removing collision from school rugby is likely to “reduce and mitigate the risk of injury” in pupils, they said.

They argue that a history of concussion is associated with the “lowering of a person’s life chances” across a number of measures including low educational achievement and premature death. Meanwhile, a head injury is linked to an increased risk of dementia, they added.

Citing previous research into sports injuries in youngsters, the pair argue that rugby, along with ice hockey and American football, have the highest concussion rates.

They said that rule changes in collision sports can “make a difference”, highlighting the Canadian ban on ‘body checking’ – where a player deliberately makes contact with an opposing player – in ice hockey for under 13-year-olds.

And in the UK “teacher training in the skills of rugby are lacking, as is concussion awareness training,” the pair wrote.

The researchers called on the UK chief medical officers to advise the UK Government to remove “harmful contact” from the game.

In 2016, the nation’s most senior medics rejected a call for a ban on tackling in youth rugby.

“There is expert advice available for schools on how to manage activities safely and reduce the risk of injuries and accidents. On top of this, staff should be given the information and training they need to manage risks effectively.”

What are your views? Do you think that full contact in rugby should be banned in school rugby? Should we outlaw other contact sports which have been around for centuries? Or is this another move to wrap our children in cotton wool?