Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Help Support The Rugby Forum :
Forums
Rugby Union
General Rugby Union
Concussion and the future of rugby
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="RedruthRFC" data-source="post: 511982" data-attributes="member: 58362"><p>Great topic, it has surprised me for some time (possibly since hearing about Bernard Jackman's IIRC 17 concussions in a season) that this problem isn't being taken more seriously.</p><p></p><p>My primary interest is in level 4 rugby here in England. This season just gone, I witnessed a player sustain a cartoon style concussion (clash of heads, both players hit deck, wait, player gets up, player's knees buckle, hit deck again) early on in a game. He played the full game, after which I spoke to him, by this time he was highly photosensitive and experiencing a banging headache. He said he played on because there was nobody suitable to replace him, despite the fact that his club's physio was fully aware of what was wrong with him, sure enough, he was back out playing the next week. I spoke to him after another game more recently and again he was complaining of photosensitivity and commented that "I've only had three concussions this season - it's not too bad".</p><p></p><p>I agree with your second post dasNdanger, a combination of bravado and a sense of duty makes players unwilling to come off. However, I do wonder if players were made fully aware of the potential consequences of playing with a concussion whether they would still be so keen to play on, the same applies to coaching staff who might put pressure on players to play on / the next week.</p><p></p><p>I'm not sure if I agree that any "medic" would act in the team's interest before an individual player's, in fact I would go as far as to say that any individual who does should be struck off. In an ideal world, every game would have an independent doctor in attendance who would agree to report any suspected concussion to the referee, who could order the player concerned off the field and make a report to the responsible union so that the player isn't allowed to play for four weeks (or whatever the current recommendation is) unless that player provides evidence of being concussion free. However the reality is that this isn't feasible in the lower level game, so I don't really know how this should be dealt with.</p><p></p><p>With regard to increasing the number of players on the bench, I can see an argument for this, but again, at lower levels teams struggle to get a side out with a minimal bench, so requiring a larger bench isn't going to be practical.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RedruthRFC, post: 511982, member: 58362"] Great topic, it has surprised me for some time (possibly since hearing about Bernard Jackman's IIRC 17 concussions in a season) that this problem isn't being taken more seriously. My primary interest is in level 4 rugby here in England. This season just gone, I witnessed a player sustain a cartoon style concussion (clash of heads, both players hit deck, wait, player gets up, player's knees buckle, hit deck again) early on in a game. He played the full game, after which I spoke to him, by this time he was highly photosensitive and experiencing a banging headache. He said he played on because there was nobody suitable to replace him, despite the fact that his club's physio was fully aware of what was wrong with him, sure enough, he was back out playing the next week. I spoke to him after another game more recently and again he was complaining of photosensitivity and commented that "I've only had three concussions this season - it's not too bad". I agree with your second post dasNdanger, a combination of bravado and a sense of duty makes players unwilling to come off. However, I do wonder if players were made fully aware of the potential consequences of playing with a concussion whether they would still be so keen to play on, the same applies to coaching staff who might put pressure on players to play on / the next week. I'm not sure if I agree that any "medic" would act in the team's interest before an individual player's, in fact I would go as far as to say that any individual who does should be struck off. In an ideal world, every game would have an independent doctor in attendance who would agree to report any suspected concussion to the referee, who could order the player concerned off the field and make a report to the responsible union so that the player isn't allowed to play for four weeks (or whatever the current recommendation is) unless that player provides evidence of being concussion free. However the reality is that this isn't feasible in the lower level game, so I don't really know how this should be dealt with. With regard to increasing the number of players on the bench, I can see an argument for this, but again, at lower levels teams struggle to get a side out with a minimal bench, so requiring a larger bench isn't going to be practical. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Rugby Union
General Rugby Union
Concussion and the future of rugby
Top