Health experts call on Government to ban tackling in school rugby
The UK and Irish governments are being warned that they should do more to protect school children from injury, including head trauma, while playing rugby. As the Six Nations continues, over 70 academics, doctors and public health professionals have sent an open letter to Ministers, Chief Medical Officers and Children's commissioners to request a ban of the collision elements of rugby within British school systems, so that children play touch and non-contact rugby. In the open letter, which was coordinated by academics from Queen Mary University of London and the University of Winchester, they write: "Rugby is a high-impact collision sport. Studies show that the risks of injuries for those aged under 18 years are high and injuries are often serious. "Second, many secondary schools in the United Kingdom deliver contact rugby as a compulsory part of the physical education curriculum from age eleven. Third, the majority of all injuries occur during contact or collision, such as the tackle and the scrum. These injuries which include fractures, ligamentous tears, dislocated shoulders, spinal injuries and head injuries can have short-term, life-long, and life-ending consequences for children." Evidence shows that there is a 28 per cent risk of injury 1 for a child rugby player over a season of 15 games.
