Adult rugby teams seeking to recruit teenagers should be required to ensure their recruits undergo medical testing for body strength, according to a Scottish study.
Experts believe the measure would help reduce the risk of spinal injury caused by taking part in scrums.
According to the Edinburgh University experts, the tests should be applied to players aged 17 recruited to play in the front row of the game.
During a rugby scrum, the six players in the front row must lock necks and shoulders and transmit the massive pressure applied by the players behind them in the scrum.
The Edinburgh University experts say that 17-year-olds may appears as big and strong as older players – but this is often not the case.
The advice, due to be reported in the British Medical Journal, has already been put into practice in Scotland.
A study found that only two 17-year-olds out of 30 had the average neck strength of an adult group.
Professor Hamish Simpson, an orthopaedic surgeon with NHS Lothian, said: "Our results showed that although under-18 players were as strong as the adults in general they were unable to generate the same neck muscle force as adult players. It is likely that weak necks are a risk factor for the scrum collapsing – an event associated with serious neck injury risk.
"To ensure the safety of all six front row players, it is essential that they are all strong enough to compete safely."
Dr James Robson, chief medical officer for Scottish Rugby, said: "This study suggests that youngsters can achieve peripheral strength.
"However the key area for us is the strength of their neck and it would appear it’s very difficult to attain ‘adult-type strength’ in this particular area. This research is helping to underpin our safety policies."
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