A leading medical researcher has called for the creation of a national injury register to document the damage suffered during school rugby matches.
David Hamilton, who studies outcomes of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Edinburgh, said that all rugby injuries suffered by players at school level should be recorded so that the impacts could be monitored into adulthood.
The proposal follows a call by 73 doctors and academics to ban tackling from all school rugby amid growing concern about the short and longterm effects of head trauma and serious injury.
“Coaches and school teachers should have training [in recording injuries] and there should be some form of standard way of reporting it,” Dr Hamilton said.
“We don’t have enough information to say what [the effects are], and it would require significant academic time and money.
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“The current data is incomplete and we will have to do better before we can make any decision. We know the risk exists but we have to put it into context.”
Dr Hamilton added that more research was needed before removing the tackle from school rugby, but said the sport’s authorities should consider banning tackles below chest hight.
The open letter to chief medical officers and children’s commissioners in the UK and the Republic of Ireland this week called for the full-contact game to be replaced with touch rugby in school.
One of the signatories, Allyson Pollock, conducted a study in 2010 of the rate of injury among young rugby players after her 14-year-old son suffered a shattered cheekbone.
Along with Dr Alastair Nicol, Professor Pollock found that during 193 rugby matches at Scottish schools there were 37 injuries, more than half of which were caused by tackles. The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) currently invites reporting of injuries in grassroots rugby but the process is not mandatory.
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On the eve of the Six Nations tournament, two architects of world-leading concussion guidelines introduced in Scotland last year told The Times that parents shouldn’t prevent their children playing rugby out of fear of injury.
Dr Andrew Murray said that parents were “in danger, I think, of overlooking the significant benefits that people can get from physical activity and sport”.
Peter Robinson, whose 14-year-old son Ben died after suffering head injuries in a match at Carrickfergus Grammar School, said there was “a bit of hysteria around [concussion], but there shouldn’t be if it’s dealt with properly”.
The Scottish government has echoed that message, responding to Dr Hamilton’s comments by saying it is “important that parents do not stop their children from taking up sport because of the fear of concussion or other contact injuries.”
The SRU said that training on player welfare was mandatory for coaches, teachers and referees involved in school rugby. “Every sport carries a degree of physical risk, but we believe the health and social benefits to young people are far greater,” a spokesman said.