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'This issue is the greatest threat to the worldwide game': new group urges World Rugby to act on concussions

(Photo by David Rogers/The RFU Collection via Getty Imagesges)

A group of retired rugby internationals, medics, administrators and academics has sent an open letter to World Rugby pressing for urgent changes to the game as it fights an “existential crisis”.

The group which includes former England and Highlanders flanker James Haskell, ex-Canada captain Jamie Cudmore and Dr Barry O’Driscoll, the uncle of Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll, have joined forces to create Progressive Rugby, a lobby group seeking wide-ranging reforms to the sport.

It comes after the Herald revealed last December that up to 70 former players, including multiple All Blackshad contributed to a game-changing lawsuit.

The letter, which was in direct response to World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont’s open letter to the rugby community which stated that “player welfare is – and always has been – our number one priority at all levels of the game”.

Progressive Rugby believes this sentiment has not been backed up by action.

“We consider in view of the evidence of risk for traumatic brain injuries occurring in rugby union that more should be done to protect the rugby-playing community from the dangers of injury and that World Rugby has a moral and legal duty to minimise risk and to inform players and parents of the risk of brain damage from repeated knocks,” the letter states.

“Evidence of the existence of brain disorders in retired players supports the contention that participation in [rugby] can cause brain damage. The awareness of the association with traumatic brain injury and participation in Rugby Union is of paramount importance for both the players and the sport itself.

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“We believe that this issue is the greatest threat to the worldwide game.”

In a conference call with media this morning, several members of the group explained that reliance on consensus statements from the controversial (and to some extent compromised) Concussion in Sport Group was holding the sport back from making the fundamental changes it needed.

The CISG’s fall-back position that more research is needed was to increase knowledge was acceptable from a scientific perspective but not fit for purpose to address obvious and urgent needs, according to Bill Ribbans, an orthopaedic surgeon and sports and exercise medicine professor with a long connection to the game.

“A lot has happened in the past four years [since the last CISG conference], and we need to move quickly with the science,” he said.

O’Driscoll noted that for all World Rugby’s rhetoric, the only change of substance they had made was to ban the use of shoulders in the attacking the heads of opponents. He said the persistence with a deeply flawed Head Injury Assessment protocols was potentially catastrophic.

“I resigned from World Rugby purely because of their attitude towards concussion,” he said.

Alix Popham, the former Wales international who revealed late last year that he was struggling with early signs of serious cognitive decline, said an immediate change to contact training should be addressed.

He noted that NFL players were allowed a maximum of 16 full-contact trainings per season. If they played every game through to the Super Bowl, they would have a maximum of 40 contact days a year.

“I know of rugby players who are still subject to four contact trainings per week,” he said.
“With games on top of that, some players face 220-240 days of contact per year.

“That’s ridiculous and that can change tomorrow.”

Other changes the group are seeking are a return to a three-week stand down following a concussion, emphasis on refereeing rucks in accordance of the laws of the game (thus reducing “clean-outs”), the issuing of health passports for players and a concussion fund for past players.

One of the more far-reaching recommendations of the group is a return to the days of injury replacements for injury only.

Research indicated that most serious injuries occurred late in games when fresh and alert “impact” players came up against tiring 80-minute athletes.

Professor John Fairclough, another orthopaedic surgeon, used a boxing analogy, saying you would never substitute a fighter for a fresh one after six rounds to continue against the same opponent, so why does rugby pit fresh athletes against fatigued ones as a “tactic”.

A return to injury based substitutes opens the gate to faked and phantom wounds, but this is seen by the group as the lesser of two evils.

The group says the common refrain that we need to wait for the research was not going to hold any longer, with player numbers in decline across all levels.

“We firmly support the core physicality that comes with an 80-minute game of rugby union and understand that the game cannot be turned back to a ‘rose-tinted’ memory of the pre-professional game. Our backing extends to maintaining tackling in schoolboy rugby. However, the above proposed changes are essential to ensure the survival of the game in terms of long-term player welfare and playing numbers at all levels.

“Whilst we acknowledge the importance of continuing well-constructed longitudinal prospective research, the rapidly accumulating anecdotal evidence has reached a point that the answer is to err on the side of caution.

“The alternative is to ‘kick the can down the road’ for future generations of administrators to deliberate upon.”

Signatories to the letter include former NZRU CEO David Moffett, former All Black Geoff Old, Inoke Afeaki , Kyran Bracken, Steve Thompson, Rory Lamont, Jonathan Davies, Paul Wallace and several other former internationals.

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J
JW 26 minutes ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Where? I remember saying "unders"? The LNR was formed by the FFR, if I said that in a way that meant the 'pro' side of the game didn't have an equal representation/say as the 'amateur' side (FFR remit) that was not my intent.


But also, as it is the governing body, it also has more responsibility. As long as WR looks at FFR as the running body for rugby in France, that 'power' will remain. If the LNR refuses to govern their clubs use of players to enable a request by FFR (from WR) to ensure it's players are able to compete in International rugby takes place they will simply remove their participation. If the players complain to the France's body, either of their health and safety concerns (through playing too many 'minutes' etc) or that they are not allowed to be part in matches of national interest, my understanding is action can be taken against the LNR like it could be any other body/business. I see where you're coming from now re EPCR and the shake up they gave it, yes, that wasn't meant to be a separate statement to say that FFR can threaten them with EPCR expulsion by itself, simply that it would be a strong repercussion for those teams to be removed (no one would want them after the above).


You keep bringing up these other things I cannot understand why. Again, do you think if the LNR were not acting responsibly they would be able to get away with whatever they want (the attitude of these posters saying "they pay the players")? You may deem what theyre doing currently as being irresponsible but most do not. Countries like New Zealand have not even complained about it because they've never had it different, never got things like windfall TV contracts from France, so they can't complain because theyre not missing out on anything. Sure, if the French kept doing things like withholding million dollar game payments, or causing millions of dollars of devaluation in rights, they these things I'm outlining would be taking place. That's not the case currently however, no one here really cares what the French do. It's upto them to sort themselves out if they're not happy. Now, that said, if they did make it obvious to World Rugby that they were never going to send the French side away (like they possibly did stating their intent to exclude 20 targeted players) in July, well then they would simply be given XV fixtures against tier 2 sides during that window and the FFR would need to do things like the 50/50 revenue split to get big teams visiting in Nov.

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