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Rugby authorities urged to cut out contact training to reduce the risk of MND

By PA
Photo by David Ramos - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images

Rugby authorities have been told they should look to eliminate contact training and reduce rather than expand the global calendar after a study revealed concerning evidence of considerably increased risk of motor neurone disease among former players.

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A study led by the University of Glasgow looking at former Scotland internationals – from both the amateur era and later professional players – found ex-rugby players had more than twice the risk of a neurodegenerative disease, and a 15-times higher risk of a motor neurone disease diagnosis.

Consultant neuropathologist Prof Willie Stewart, who led the research, said it raised immediate questions for rugby authorities to mitigate the risks.

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“I am genuinely concerned about what is happening in the modern game, and that if, in 20 years’ time, we repeat this study we would see something even more concerning” Stewart said.

“Rugby has talked a lot and done a lot about head injury management and whether it can reduce head injury during (training). Those conversations have gone on a while and the pace of progress is pretty slow.

“This should be a stimulus to them to pick up their heels to make some pretty dramatic changes as quickly as possible to try and reduce risk.

“Instead of talking about extending seasons and introducing new competitions and global seasons they should be talking about restricting it as much as possible, cutting back on the amount of rugby we’re seeing and getting rid of as much training as possible.

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“Things like that have to be addressed pretty rapidly.”

The study, published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, compared health outcomes among 412 male, Scottish, former international rugby players and over 1,200 matched individuals from the general population.

It was part-funded by the Football Association and Professional Footballers’ Association, building on the landmark 2019 study which found former professional footballers had an approximately three and a half times higher rate of death from neurodegenerative disease than expected.

Stewart said the numbers found had come as a “big surprise” and more work – including a broader study – was now needed to fully understand their meaning, although the immediate message for the game was clear.

“The hypothesis we’re working on is that head injury exposure in sport increases the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and we’re finding that over and again,” he said. “The story we’re getting from all evidence is that exposure to head injuries is a risk we need to do something about.

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“The modern game from 1995 onwards has seen that that head injury exposure go up and up and up as far as I’m concerned.”

Asked what steps should be taken within the game, he added: “Contact training during the week should be viewed as virtually a thing of the past, getting rid of as much as possible.

“Look at the number of matches being played and ask, ‘Is this credible that young men and women can be playing week-in, week-out, for the majority of the year just for entertainment?’…

“I know it’s tough to think about there being less rugby rather than more but maybe less is more if you see better quality rugby, the players are less damaged and fitter.

“You can’t continue to put young men and women through what they’re being put through now we know even from the amateur era there’s this risk of brain disease.”

Dr Susan Kohlhaas, director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, called for further research into head injuries in sport.

She said: “It’s concerning to see research identify former male rugby players as being at increased risk of dementia, and at particularly high risk of the neurodegenerative condition motor neurone disease.

“There are still uncertainties over the exact size of the risk – for example, since motor neurone disease is a rare condition, there were no cases of MND in the aged-match controls and so much larger studies are needed to paint a clearer picture.

“Research that points the way to understanding and minimising the risks associated with head impacts, and how to balance these against the undoubted benefits of physical activity, is challenging but essential. At Alzheimer’s Research UK, we have outlined the most important priorities for researchers to complete the picture, including studying the impact of head injuries in women, at grass roots, and in the modern game, none of which were the focus of this research.

“As the leading dementia research charity, we’re already kick-starting further research into brain injury and the long-term risks of dementia with £500,000 of investment.”

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J
JW 34 minutes ago
Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones

This piece is nothing more than the result of revisionist fancy of Northern Hemisphere rugby fans. Seeing what they want to see, helped but some surprisingly good results and a desire to get excited about doing something well.


I went back through the 6N highlights and sure enough in every English win I remembered seeing these exact holes on the inside, that are supposedly the fallout out of a Felix Jones system breaking down in the hands of some replacement. Every time the commentators mentioned England being targeted up the seam/around the ruck or whatever. Each game had a try scored on the inside of the blitz, no doubt it was a theme throughout all of their games. Will Jordan specifically says that Holland had design that move to target space he saw during their home series win.


Well I'm here to tell you they were the same holes in a Felix Jones system being built as well. This woe is now sentiment has got to stop. The game is on a high, these games have been fantastic! It is Englands attack that has seen their stocks increase this year, and no doubt that is what SB told him was the teams priority. Or it's simply science, with Englands elite players having worked towards a new player welfare and management system, as part of new partnership with the ERU, that's dictating what the players can and can't put their bodies through.


The only bit of truth in this article is that Felix is not there to work on fixing his defence. England threw away another good chance of winning in the weekend when they froze all enterprise under pressure when no longer playing attacking footy for the second half. That mindset helped (or not helped if you like) of course by all this knee jerk, red brained criticism.

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