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The transformation of rugby union from a sport focused on “contact” to one focused on “collision” started around 1995 when professionalism was introduced. This shift has raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of the game due to the increased risk of concussion and injury.

These inquiries are particularly prominent in educational institutions. Despite the World Rugby organization reporting an increase in participation in rugby union globally last September, evidence from junior clubs and schools in England does not support this. There is growing concern based on personal accounts about the decrease in players once they move from mini versions to full-contact rugby due to safety concerns.

According to Sally-Anne Huang, the headteacher at St Paul’s school in west London, rugby in schools is facing threats due to the attention on injuries in professional games, the growing popularity and availability of other sports, and the difficulty in scheduling suitable matches.

We have progressed far beyond the stage where we can ignore the issue and simply rely on traditional values in our society.

There are those who point out the increase in player size, combined with the increase in physicality since the shift to professionalism. This has resulted in tackling, which used to be a passive act, being turned into an aggressive “hit”. This often involves two defenders tackling one player with the ball, which has become a major concern for parents.

“Whether you’re at schoolboy or international level there’s a premium on collision winning, that almost goes without saying,” the new England defence coach, Felix Jones, said recently.

On February 1st, a report published by the Rugby Football Union stated that concussion is now the most commonly reported injury in both school and professional rugby. This is due to a heightened understanding of the potential long-term consequences of repeated head injuries and their connection to the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy. As a result, there is a growing concern about the influence of professional rugby on the sport at the school level.

In a 2021 report titled “Challenges for the Future of Rugby Football in Schools,” Neil Rollings, chairman of the Professional Association of Directors of Sport in Independent Schools, stated that professional rugby does not serve as a positive representation for school rugby, and its terminology is not always supportive.

Many parents may want their children to mirror the size, skill, and willingness to engage in physical play that is often seen in the Premiership. But emphasizing hard hits, aggressive confrontations, and glorification of excessive size and strength in players takes away from the idea that rugby is a sport for people of all shapes and sizes.

The situation has caused a division in the sport. There are fewer students continuing to play the game until the age of 18, even in the largest boarding schools, than ever before in history.

Certain individuals within school rugby are making their own attempts to address the issue, feeling great frustration towards the lack of recognition for the harm caused to grassroots rugby by the elite’s emphasis on physicality and aggression.

Richard Dixon, the rugby coach at Clayesmore school, expresses his concern that the focus on collisions has become excessive in the game. He believes that this was not always the case and can be avoided in the future.

The professional game shows no signs of taking action, so we should take matters into our own hands instead of waiting for them to do something about it.

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There is currently a significant emphasis on physical contact in the sport of rugby. However, we are focused on teaching our male players to approach the game differently. Instead of solely relying on brute force, we encourage them to think strategically and utilize open areas on the field.

Dixon sparked controversy in the quiet town of Iwerne Minster in Dorset, where the 550-student private school is situated. He invited coaches from the Toulouse and Bath academies to the school’s grounds to hold a coaching session for the students.

After only a few weeks of contacting the Toulouse coach Sam Lacombe, whom Dixon had developed a friendship with during his summertime visits to the Pierre Villepreux coaching school in Lubersac, southern France, the Oxford University alumnus was co-leading a coaching session with the two-time World Cup champion and former All Black, Jerome Kaino.

Students from schools in the West Country, such as Monkton Combe, King Edward’s Bath, and Clayesmore, enthusiastically embraced Villepreux’s “Plaisir du Mouvement” philosophy, which was taught through the perspective of a contemporary rugby star and monitored by Lynn Evans, a strong advocate of the evasion-focused game.

“I strongly believe in the significance of rugby and the positive values it can impart in the youth,” expresses Jo Thomson, the head of Clayesmore. “It is an exceptional sport that teaches numerous valuable lessons in life. Many of our students are passionate about it, and I am determined to keep it thriving.”

The evidence is undeniable and instead of ignoring it, we should seek solutions to protect the future of this exceptional game.

With the backing of a growing number of female headmasters, like Thomson at Clayesmore and Huang at St. Paul’s, schools are investigating methods to reduce the intensity of rugby while still emphasizing the well-recognized advantages of taking part, such as self-control, physical wellness, and a sense of belonging.

In 2020, Huang became the head teacher of St Paul’s, one of the schools that helped establish the RFU. Prior to her, former England and Wasps winger Mark Bailey held the position. As the mother of two sons who play rugby, she considers herself a devoted fan of the sport. However, she also recognizes a growing issue that requires attention.

Huang suggests that some may argue that the potential for injuries and improved knowledge of the hazards associated with contact sports should be sufficient reasons to abandon rugby in the present.

“I am concerned that we may be rushing into a decision and disregarding valuable aspects by adopting that perspective hastily.”

“Anyone who has worked with young people who have enjoyed rugby will know that it offers a compelling blend of team work, discipline and confidence building that can make the most extraordinary difference to individual lives.

“Few sports can match the importance of individual roles and the need for them to be executed skillfully for the success of the team. Rugby is one of the rare sports that instills discipline and respect, emphasizing the significance of technical proficiency and personal character.”

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Huang, in the previous year, provided a thorough description of her ex-sports leader, Glenn Harrison, who was a three-quarter for Harlequins and Wharfdale. Harrison, who earned a blue for Cambridge University in 1994, was tasked with developing a blueprint for a new format that prioritized safety and skill.

Harrison, a vice principal at St Paul’s, worked together with Professor Keith Stokes on behalf of the Rugby Football Union to carry out their assigned task. Last semester, Tonbridge, King’s Wimbledon and Hampton schools joined St Paul’s in testing the “Third Game” idea, named as such because it was initially intended as a third option after non-contact touch rugby and full-contact rugby.

According to Harrison, the game remains a full-contact sport. However, it was developed to preserve key elements such as scrums, lineouts, and full-contact tackles, while also reducing the frequency of collisions. This allows for a greater emphasis on finding open space, making offloads, and passing earlier.

Harrison’s Third Game places less importance on physical size and introduces new rules, such as outlawing jackal contests for the ball and penalizing ball carriers for unnecessary collisions with non-moving defenders.

To incentivize greater width in ball movement, scoring a try in the shaded red eight-meter “try zone” will earn seven points. Additionally, number eights were prohibited from picking up the ball from the base of the scrum.

Each instance of a ruck was considered a “phase” and each team was allowed four phases before facing a penalty. If a jackal was not present, it also decreased head-to-head contact and increased the pace of the game.

During the four hours of round-robin play, Simon Kemp, the long-serving head of medicine at the RFU, and John Lawn, the game development director, observed with no reported injuries.

Although still in its pilot stage, Harrison is optimistic his Third Game trial, which appears to have the full support of the RFU, will be rolled out at under‑14 level from next season in a bid to end to scenes which one director of sport recently said saw “some Saturday afternoons with ambulances all over the school grounds full of children”.

Some schools still support the unaltered collision-based game, but others are finding similar educational institutions that understand the need for the sport to adapt in order to survive.

Harrison says that we should compete on the most competitive platform with similar schools who also recognize the importance of moving away from aggressive, contact-based gameplay that potentially results in more injuries.

“We aim to compete with schools that align with our beliefs, instead of bringing in oversized players through rugby scholarships in recent years. This practice alters the playing field and poses a potential risk for injuries.”

The representative for the RFU stated that rugby has been a pioneer in addressing and monitoring concussions and injuries. They have used evidence to proactively prioritize the well-being of players through education and changes to laws. This season, they have implemented a lower tackle height in the community game to lessen the risk of concussions and head-to-head collisions.

“We acknowledge that not everyone enjoys contact sports, so we are conducting trials with a selection of schools to implement regulations that promote keeping the ball in hand, scoring tries further out, and removing jackling to create a faster and less intense version of the game.”

“These trials will continue to be evaluated with the aim of providing players and schools with new choices and different game offerings for the next generation of players.”

Source: theguardian.com