Playing Proper Rugby Is Against Kids 'ooman Rights.

[youngmafbog]

Gawd Bilmey, you couldn't make it up!

What a load of nonsense.

http://news.sky.com/story/1651698/stop-tackling-in-school-rugby-doctors-say

[melv16]

Most rugby clubs have a colts side, so you don't get mis-matches in size and weight. Mini rugby has sides that are regulated by age.
Most neck injuries are caused by front rows collapsing in the scrum.

[stuey]

"I say, Cecil, I see that you have control of the jolly old ball; I'll flip you for it."
"You try to flip me, Montague, and I'll bloody well flatten you!"
" No, no, you silly goose! We'll flip a coin, and the winner gets the ball."

[retrocop]

I say stuey. Is that cricket?

[stuey]

Retro, you read my mind: I almost ended it with that:)

[retrocop]

Lol.

[Svejk]

When I played I didn't allow anyone to tackle me. ;-)

[Old_Geezer]

I don't have the data to see if this is a greater risk than I think it is; but it seems to me that if rugby is too rough for today's namby pambys then they should stop altogether and go play tag or something rather than mess about embarrassing the boys with touch rugby. I can see there would be overwhelming enthusiasm for that. Or they could play a good game of British Bulldog in the gym, I suppose.

[jourdain2]

All sports have their risks. My niece (dressage, showing and show jumping at a high level) has had her teeth kicked out and several nasty tumbles. My sport, that I coached, is T & F athletics. Safety-conscious though we are there are the occasional fatalities (a kid was killed by a javelin at a neighbouring school), broken bones happen and hurdles (esp. steeplechase) can result in really nasty injuries.

High Jump is my speciality (to National level, the rest to County) and that is also very dangerous. To succeed you have to be flexible enough to 'do the crab' in mid-air. The crab is regarded as a highly dangerous stretch.

In other words, you learn to coach well and take precautions, but for
goodness' sake children need to learn to meet challenges. I am trying to talk my daughter into letting my grandson play rugby, he needs to learn to control the aggression in him (the 5-yr-old next door loves it!).

[DTCwordfan]

exactly, jourdain.....cricket has its dangers, batting or fielding, how about climbing, sailing, even orienteering - tiddlywinks and you can take out your eye with the winks.

[DTCwordfan]

hockey can have its dangers too.....this is all namby-pambyism, the worst comment being that it may well be lawyer-induced......

[paddywak]

When I was fourteen I fractured my collar bone playing Rugby.It was strapped up if I remember rightly for about five weeks two weeks after the strapping was removed I was back on the field.

[woofgang]

I think that Jim has a point here about the whole dialogue about what sports are played in schools. I think the bigger issues in schools are that often (always) there is no chance to arrange teams of equal size and weight, also mostly the child has no choice over what sport they choose. If a child chooses to play contact sports and the parents agree, then surely that’s different from saying all pupils will play xxx?

[woofgang]

I belive that the other issue with sport related brain injury is that it is cumulative and also the full extent of it may not be evident until years later?

[DTCwordfan]

many ball sports have players of different weight and sizes....hockey, cricket, rugby, lacrosse, hurling, gaelic football, football and probably plenty more.

[woofgang]

an interesting article from 2013. I believe there is growing concern about college football because of the risk of cumulative brain injury.

[DTCwordfan]

It's about coaching and refereeing and increasing excellence with them.

[woofgang]

d’oh...post the link
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24420-brain-damage-in-american-football-linked-to-head-trauma/

[agchristie]

My daughter has recently played tag rugby and didn't enjoy it and as from this week her class is doing judo!

I asked her if she understood it but she was clearly thrown :'(

[Togo]

//In an open letter to MPs, chief medical officers and children's commissioners, some 70 doctors and health experts argue that schools should move towards non-contact rugby.//

Are these the doctors and health 'experts' who are rushed off their feet treating people who are ill? ( not all rugby playing schoolchildren). Ban Rugby, result, now........ next up, judo, boxing, horse riding, football, pole vault, karate, cricket, etc. etc. until the kids just stay in bed. Then of course another career advising people to take exercise. Beggar all to do with the smug gits.