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touchline
Insight
Expert calls for rugby scrums to be banned in schools
Rugby scrums should be banned in
schools to protect children involved in a
sport which is “not safe enough” for them,
an expert has warned.
Professor Allyson Pollock, director
of Edinburgh University’s Centre for
International Public Health Policy, called
for the ban after research into child injuries
was carried out during 190 rugby matches
at five schools. There were 37 injuries
recorded, with 20 taken to accident and
emergency.
However, former Gloucester, England and
Lions prop Mike Burton has rejected calls
for a ban saying, “The IRB have been
very responsible in the way that they have
managed injury prevention especially with
youngsters.”
During an interview on BBC Radio
Gloucestershire, he continued, “In schools
there’s a special rule applied to the scrum
where they keep the heads level with
the hips. They’re not allowed to do any
between January to April last year, the
injury incidence during the match play
was 10.8 injuries per 1,000 player hours.
Out of 37 rugby injuries amongst the
youngsters, 29 were sustained by children
aged between 14 and 17 and eight in the
11 to 13 age group.
A spinal injury was admitted overnight in
hospital and the 19 other injuries seen at
accident and emergency were discharged
without admission.
Eight of the injuries resulted in time off
school. Five of those injured were off
school for one day, one was off for three
days, one for five days and the spinal
injury caused the youngster to be “off
school long-term”, the research said.
The study, published in the Journal of
Public Health, also said a rugby injury
surveillance system in Scottish schools
should be “strongly encouraged”.
Professor Pollock said, “Concussion
is under-reported because it’s not
being monitored properly. Repeated
concussions may have severe long-term
consequences,” warning that teachers
and coaches have a duty of care towards
children.
The Scottish government helped to fund
the research.
A government spokeswoman said: “We
initiated preliminary work around this
study and we will now look closely at the
findings of the research.
“While the Scottish government is fully
supportive of school rugby, it’s very
important we have accurate data about
injuries sustained on the pitch to ensure
that young people are not being exposed
to disproportionate risks.”
lowering or moving at an angle and later
on in life when props develop they learn
the skills and their strength develops”.
The study stated that the tackle was the
“commonest phase of play causing injury”
with the head and face the most injured
body part, along with sprains or ligament
damage.
Prof Pollock, one of the study’s authors,
said: “High tackles and scrums should be
banned. The sport is not safe enough for
school children and not enough is being
done to protect the safety of children. If
youngsters were coming back from school
trips with these rates of injuries it would
be enough to trigger a major inquiry”
“We know that most injuries occur in
tackles and the scrum so there have got
to be much greater safety measures in
these areas.”
She said moderating play may change
rugby, but it was better to have a safe
game than a dangerous
one.
But
Burton
also
questioned one of the
other recommendations in
the report, the call for high
tackles to be banned as
well as scrums.
“It says the high tackle
should be banned, well
high tackles already are
banned,” said Burton.
“Here we have a professor
saying all these things and
she’s not really thought
it through, I’m very
concerned about that.”
In the 193 matches played
by 470 children in Scotland