According to the BBC, if World Rugby trials are successful, the tackle height at the 2023 World Cup in France will be lowered to waist height. However, waist high tackles are not necessarily safer. Rachael Hearn, a PHD student at Manchester Metropolitan University, says that waist high tackles can, in fact, increase the likelihood of a concussion owing to the effects of the greater force applied to the body.
The G force a player suffers is increased if they are tackled around their midriff than if they were tackled at shoulder height. Although there is less chance of making contact with the head, the brain will move more, increasing the likelihood of a player suffering from a concussion.
With rugby being a contact sport, players will always be at risk of injury. Concussion is an injury that can go unnoticed due to the fact that symptoms are not always immediate. Concussion however is not the worse injury that can be suffered. A series of concussions can lead to the development of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). If you suffer repeated concussions before the age of 14 then you’re more likely to suffer CTE than if you were older. This is due to a child’s brains not being as developed as that of an adult and thus being more susceptible to not just injury but lasting damage.
Hearn says that children in particular are in danger as they may not have enough understanding of the symptoms of concussion and so may be more inclined to play on.
Each time someone plays contact sport they are more at risk of developing CTE. This is why Hearn advises that full contact should not be played at too young an age. In America, parents are being encouraged to only allow their children to play flag football, as opposed to the full contact version of the sport. In England, at club level, children play tag rugby, the equivalent of flag football, until Under 8’s and then play full contact from Under 9’s, with team sizes increasing and rules becoming more developed as players progress up the age ranges.
headstrong.sport.blog 