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Ban full contact rugby in schools


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A report has been released calling for the banning of full contact rugby from schools, citing the danger of high impact collisions in tackling and scrums.

The reports author, Alysin Pollack, has campaigned for many years against school rugby, following her son being injured several times while playing rugby at school in Edinburgh (broken nose, cheekbone and leg). In terms of chances of injury rugby is actually lower than other school sports, such as football, and there are programmes in place to monitor injury in rugby.

I played rugby in school both in the school and in a local club and, while I was never particularly good, I enjoyed it. Looking back I think I was concussed once in a match but played on not really knowing what was going on. Our games were taken by coaches or teachers and I don't recall there being any doctors or physios there.

Any P&Bers suffer serious injury in their schooldays while playing rugby or any other sports?

What to P&B parents think of their kids playing rugby?

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A report has been released calling for the banning of full contact rugby from schools, citing the danger of high impact collisions in tackling and scrums.

The reports author, Alysin Pollack, has campaigned for many years against school rugby, following her son being injured several times while playing rugby at school in Edinburgh (broken nose, cheekbone and leg). In terms of chances of injury rugby is actually lower than other school sports, such as football, and there are programmes in place to monitor injury in rugby.

I played rugby in school both in the school and in a local club and, while I was never particularly good, I enjoyed it. Looking back I think I was concussed once in a match but played on not really knowing what was going on. Our games were taken by coaches or teachers and I don't recall there being any doctors or physios there.

Any P&Bers suffer serious injury in their schooldays while playing rugby or any other sports?

What to P&B parents think of their kids playing rugby?

I went to a proper school, so we played football.

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Getting rid of full contact rugby in schools would only lead to people getting injured whenever they eventually do play rugby.

We played touch first, then learned how to tackle, then played contact. They had a rule that you had to have some touch experience and attend tackle training sessions before you could play contact. It worked well.

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Boy who lived next door to me growing up was banned from playing rugby for life when he was in his early teens. He then spent time in jail and is now a cage fighter.

Should have stuck to football and he'd have been no worse than a paedo or a rapist.

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I broke my hand playing rugby at school but never suffered concussions. A guy in my year did get knocked out playing Rugby and when he came to had no recollection of the day up to his injury. The worst injury I ever saw at school though was some boy making an arse of the high jump and breaking his leg badly, so it's not just rugby that can mess your body up.

Banning tackling would really suck the fun out of the game though. It would be utter shite just playing touch rugby until 18. I guess the SRU have enough problems with declining amount of players without this.

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Yet the Olympics are allowing pros in the boxing. And removing the head protection.

Why? Because it will cause less concussion as they'll get knocked the fuckity out and not suffer repeated blows.

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There are martial arts clubs run in schools, presumably they would be shut down.

I don't think the evidence is strong enough to ban full contact rugby, or indeed sport, in schools. Where there might be an issue is that there are some schools where full contact rugby is compulsory, which I don't think is right. It must be pretty miserable to play such a physical sport when you don't want to.

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They'll be banning paggars next- couldn't beat a good paggar at school, especially the subtle ones involving 30 kids gathering to watch in a circle right next to the staff room window shouting "Fight! Fight!". Teachers took about 5 minutes to suss what was going on...

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Having only touch rugby up until the age of 18+ could potentially lead to more injuries (not just concussion) given that in the process of learning to play rugby you'll also surely adapt to position yourself to prepare for tackles made on you and also be advised on what tackles are or are not acceptable or could injure yourself or the opposing player.

I can understand touch rugby up until early teenage years and possibly mandatory skull caps for certain (or all if it goes that way) positions up until another specific age such as late teens.

Kids could spend the next few years playing non-contact rugby and then be unfairly thrown into the lions den coming up against seasoned pros, unless some sort of transition period is introduced. That is a worst case scenario that I think is unlikely to happen but you never know. I'm sure plenty young lads get fairly roughed up when they move into pro levels.

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