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USA great retires after nearly being killed on rugby pitch

USA Sevens stalwart Zack Test has announced his retirement following a severe brain bleed as the result of a head collision.

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In a heartfelt Instagram post, the 28-year-old detailed his decision to step away from rugby.

“For those who are unaware, I suffered a head collision playing against Uruguay in February that resulted in severe brain bleeding. It nearly cost me my life,” Test wrote.

“After hundreds of hours of rehab and treatment, I am proud to say I am physically and mentally fully functional.

“It’s hard to describe how thankful I am to be alive and living a normal life.

“After a long discussion with my loved ones unfortunately, I am retiring from the sport of rugby. Making this decision has been the single hardest act I have ever had to do, I simply cannot risk another injury.

“Players, parents, coaches, and trainers all need to increase awareness of head injuries in the sport and I am committed to help spread the information.”

A post shared by Zack Test (@ztesty5) on

Test steps away following an illustrious 14-year career with the USA Eagles sevens team, where he ranks second in tries and points scored.

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The California native competed in seven tests for the Eagles 15-man side and a USA record 62 Sevens World Series events.

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fl 1 hour ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Smith generally isn't well connected to his forward pods; doesn't do a great job of distributing to those around him; and has inferior positional and contestable kicking games than Ford and Fin.


When England have had success over the past few years, its been either through (i) defensive rugby backed up with smart tactical kicking or (ii) high possession attacking phase play based on quick ruck ball. George Ford was key to the implementation of (i) in the RWC, and in the 6N win over Wales, and to the implementation of (ii) in the 6N games against Ireland and France. Smith did great at (ii) when running at tired defenders at the end of the Ireland match, but has never successfully implemented that gameplan from the start of a test because he doesn't distribute or support his forwards enough to create consistent fast ball and build attacks over multiple phases. Instead, his introduction to the starting side has resulted in much more playmaking responsibilities being forced onto whoever plays 9. Alex Mitchell copes ok with that, but I think he looks better with a more involved playmaking 10 outside him, and it really isn't a gameplan that works for JVP or Spencer. As a result of that the outside backs and centres have barely touched the ball when Smith has been at 10.


This might not have been too much of a disaster, as England have seemed to be moving slightly towards the sort of attacking gameplan that France played under Labit and Quins play (I think this was especially their approach when they won the league a few years ago - but its still a part of their play now), which is based on kicking to create broken field rugby. This is (i) a sharp departure from the gameplans that have worked for England in the past few seasons; (ii) bears very little relation to the tactical approaches of the non-Quins players in the England team; and (iii) is an absolute disaster for the blitz defence, which is weak in transition. Unsurprisingly, it has coincided with a sharp decline in England's results.

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