Dozens of doctors and researchers have demanded a ban on tackling in school rugby, warning that it puts children at risk of life-long injury.
Broken bones, spinal injuries and concussion leading to memory loss are among the dangers for children who play rugby and the government must ensure that the “collision elements” of the school game are removed, the academics and public health experts said.
Britain is violating its duty under the UN convention on the rights of the child by forcing pupils to play the “high-impact collision sport”, they added.
In a letter to health, education and sports ministers, 73 health professionals said they were “increasingly concerned about the harms and risks of injuries to children playing school rugby”.
They criticised plans in England to encourage more pupils to take up the sport, saying that without proper systems for preventing and measuring injury children could not give informed consent to the risks involved.
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Allyson Pollock, of Queen Mary University of London, one of the authors of the letter, said: “Rugby is a high-impact collision sport and given that children are more susceptible to injuries such as concussion, the absence of injury surveillance systems and primary prevention strategies is worrying. Children are being left exposed to serious and catastrophic risk of injury.”
However, with almost a third of British children now overweight, other doctors argued that it made no sense to scare them off sports. Russell Viner, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Heath, said: “Although there are risks attached to any sport, it is imperative that we don’t let this prevent our children from getting out and taking part in much needed physical activity.”
The Rugby Football Union said new rules were being introduced to protect children and monitor injuries.
