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World Rugby issues response to concussion demands of new Progressive Rugby lobby group spearheaded by James Haskell

(Photo by Craig Mercer/CameraSport via Getty Images)

World Rugby have issued a response to the letter written by Progressive Rugby, a new lobby group spearheaded by ex-England international James Haskell which has been formed following the legal action lodged late last year against World Rugby, the RFU and Welsh Rugby by former players showing symptoms of dementia.

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In calling for urgent reform to limit the risk of brain damage in rugby, the new lobby group called on World Rugby to adopt its ideas as a matter of urgency or the sport could face extinction within a couple of generations. 

Included in their recommendations, Progressive Rugby have called for contact training to be limited, an upper-level tackle height review, a reduction in the number of replacements, a limit on the number of games a Test player can annually play in, and an increase in the minimum concussion rest period to three weeks. 

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As one of 28 signatories in the letter, ex-England forward Haskell has claimed: “The game needs to change things. We could do so much more to look after players. Why do we do so much contact in training when there is no need? So much gets brushed under the carpet.

“It’s only when it affects you and someone you know, you actually start to take notice. But paying lip service to it has to stop because we are getting these neurological effects when people are young – some even younger than me. If players like my old teammate Dylan Hartley have concerns over whether they get early-onset dementia, we need to take a stand.”

A statement from World Rugby in response to the Progressive Rugby launch read: “The welfare of the global rugby family is, and has always been, World Rugby’s priority. We take our responsibility very seriously and care deeply about our past, present and future players.

“That is why we ensure that players are at the heart of our discussions through International Rugby Players, and that is why we value and welcome constructive debate, respect opinions and listen to suggestions that advance welfare.

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“We are progressive, which is why as scientific and medical knowledge and societal understanding continue to evolve, rugby evolves with it. We are always guided by medical and scientific consensus to inform our concussion education, prevention and management strategies.

“Clearly these members of our rugby family love the game and want it to be the best it can be. We do too. We are encouraged that the group are championing a number of initiatives that are already operational or being considered and we are open to constructive discussions with them regarding their proposals.”

 

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J
JW 1 hour 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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LONG READ Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones
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