Ban tackles in school rugby - Pollock
Tuesday September 26th, 2017
Tackling and harmful contact should be banned from youth rugby to ensure participants’ safety, two academics claim today (26 September 2017).
Professor Allyson Pollock and Graham Kirkwood, both of Newcastle University,
UK, have called on the government to “put the interests of the
child before the interests of corporate professional rugby unions” and
remove the tackle and other forms of harmful contact from the school
game.
Their call comes after four UK chief medical officers (CMOs) last year rejected calls for a ban on tackling in youth rugby, pointing to a study that claimed rugby was no more injury prone than other sports.
But writing in The BMJ, Professor Pollock, professor of public health and director of the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University, and Mr Kirkwood, senior research associate in the Institute of Health and Society, say that under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 19), “governments have a duty to protect children from risks of injury and to ensure the safety of children, which is why we are calling on CMOs to act now.”
They highlight a recent evidence review of youth sports found rugby, ice-hockey and American football had the highest concussion rates in children and that head injury is associated with an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
They also say that a history of concussion is associated with a lowering of a person’s life chances across a range of social and educational measures, as well as an increase in violent behaviour and violent injury in adolescents.
Rule changes in collision sports can make a difference, they write. For example, Canada’s ban on ‘body-checking’ (intentional body contact) in under 13s ice-hockey led to a reduction in concussion risk.
However, they point out that evidence for other strategies to reduce concussion risk in sport including the wearing of protective equipment such as mouthguards is weak. And in the UK, teacher training in the skills of rugby are lacking as is concussion awareness training.
A spokesman for World Rugby said there was no new evidence supporting a ban.
He said: “With appropriate supervision and coaching, rugby is a sport that empowers young people, builds confidence, shapes valuable life skills and promotes a healthy lifestyle.”
Pollock A, Kirkwood G. Opinion: Tackle and scrum should be banned in school rugby. The BMJ. September 2017 [abstract]
Tags: A&E | Brain & Neurology | Child Health | Fitness | UK News
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