Rugby is in danger of becoming a version of American football with its growing emphasis on power and collisions, which will only expose players to the ever-increasing risk of injury.
That is the view of Damian Hopley, the chief executive of the Rugby Players’ Association (RPA), who said yesterday that steps had to be taken to protect his members, otherwise the fallout would be one that the sport would find difficult to cope with.
“I am very worried,” he said. “We need to compare ourselves with the NFL, that is the sport we are morphing into. Every year the game moves up another gear in terms of intensity. Anecdotally it rises another notch after a Lions tour or a World Cup, which is where we find ourselves now.”
Hopley, whose union represents every Guinness Premiership player, will be attending the IRB’s two-day Medical Strategic Plan forum, which begins in London this morning and is keen that the players’ perspective is made paramount.
The former England centre, whose career was cut short by a knee injury, said that evidence from the clubs in the Premiership pointed to players — particularly those in the front five — possibly nearing the limit of their endurance.
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“They say the game has gone up again in intensity,” he said. “But are we alone in England in having a mini- injury crisis which has received a lot of publicity because of the high-profile nature of those involved, or is this part of a growing pattern worldwide? I will be fascinated to hear what the medical experts think this week and what can be done.
“We need to have a central bank of injury data, because at the moment we are all working off different research. We need to find uniformity as to where the injury issues are. There needs to be some sort of global standard of information.”
Hopley said that the problem in England had been exacerbated by the economic crisis that had forced cash-strapped clubs to cut back on squad sizes and playing budgets, which only added to the pressures on the experienced players, of whom more and more was expected.
“I feel sorry for the players and also the directors of rugby who are now in a results-driven business,” he said. “They need results to save their jobs. It is a vicious circle. They have a very difficult task. But the reduction in squad sizes has a serious knock-on effect of player welfare. The question now is can squads cope with the demands being placed upon them.”
Other factors that will be thrown into the melting pot today are the structure of the season, the number of games being played and the need to find a balance between commercial and playing demands. “We must determine what is the right number of competitions to sustain a professional league,” Hopley said.
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He said there was one silver lining to the dark cloud, the opportunity afforded to fringe players at club and international level because of the attrition rate. “That has to be good for the sport in the long run.”
The RFU has been leading the way in terms of its injury audit from the Premiership over the past decade. Figures for the 2008-09 season are being collated and when they are completed in January, they should help to produce a clearer picture as to whether there is an escalating problem and, if so, how dramatic it is.
As revealed by The Times last month, the RPA is pioneering the use in training of Global Positioning System (GPS) units, which measure the force of collisions when players wear the gadgets between their shoulder blades. That three-year trial is in its early stages, but it is hoped that the data it provides will help to shape thinking in the future and perhaps lead to their use in games.
“This is part of a broader issue here,” Hopley said. “Perhaps we need to look at the laws again. We need laws that help to provide more safety for players. We have to be driven by player welfare, otherwise we do not have a game.”
England’s tale of woe
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Players from England’s elite and Saxons squads who are injured
Facial: Dominic Waldouck (cheekbone)
Neck/shoulder: Phil Vickery, Andrew Sheridan, Tom Rees, Delon Armitage, Riki Flutey, David Wilson, Jordan Turner-Hall
Back: Luke Narraway
Hamstring: Mike Tindall, Julian White, Matt Mullan, Sam Vesty, Olly Morgan
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Knee: Lee Mears, David Barnes, Harry Ellis, Rob Webber, Topsy Ojo, Alex Corbisiero
Fibula: Danny Cipriani
Calf: Nick Easter
Ankle/Achilles tendon: Toby Flood, Will Skinner, Jason Hobson
Foot:Richard Blaze, Ben Woods, Nick Wood