Rugby safety in focus after player’s death

This from Ed’s Rugby News section:

The untimely death of former New Zealand Maori and Highlanders rugby player Shane Christie has reignited urgent calls for drastic changes in the sport's approach to player welfare. Christie was found deceased at his home in Nelson, a development that has deeply impacted the rugby community and intensified the debate on the long-term effects of concussions. Sam Peters, a prominent concussion campaigner, has demanded radical overhauls in the sport's safety protocols to safeguard players' futures.

Christie, who hung up his boots in 2016 due to repeated concussions, had been a staunch advocate for greater research into the correlation between recurrent head injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). His death at 39 has brought the dangers of the sport into sharp, tragic focus. Peters, responding to the news, expressed his devastation and renewed his call for action. "Every time I question why or whether to carry on advocating for improved brain health in sport, a story like this punches me in the guts and provides crystal clear focus," he stated on LinkedIn.

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This is a very sad conclusion and yes administrators need to continue to look at brain injuries in rugby. More pressing in the light of the Jac Morgan clean out in the Aussie series, which deserved at least a penalty based on the standards for other similar incidents.

The clean out and the high ball remain very dangerous aspects of rugby, the former could be solved by forcing players to bind before cleaning out….which would also make it harder for defensive teams to effect turnovers prompting more freedom in general play.

The high ball is an accident waiting to happen with no obvious solution….so refs obsess about head or neck contact, many of these incidents are benign.

So that leaves us with a simple truth….rugby is dangerous. Not as dangerous as boxing….not as dangerous as riding fast motor cycles for 30 years as I did. But dangerous. Ultimately players have to accept that risk or play non contact sports. Motor Cycle manufacturers can’t be sued for traffic risks…. Nobody is forced to play rugby, nor should the sport be subject to legal action for these inherent risks and players might need to sign contracts to that effect.

That said the obvious answer is player insurance for catastrophic events, paid for from the takings of the Roman forum.

How did he pass away?

awful story.

Mozart

Rugby is indeed a dangetous game =nut it cpmcern n the main neck injuries such as broken neks that hapened in the Chris Burge case, Yes repeated concussion njurues must be an indication that negative impacct on the brain - but the death can caused by a number of other reasons as well. I am not sure in the abbsemce of a cause of death what happened in this case - he could have suffered from other health problems that caused the death.

W hat I think should be done is a longer ban than 4 weeks on serial offenders - it ahould be like happened of drug abouse a longer sentense is needed of at least one year. In the case of serial offenders a ban o a year can put a player out of rugby since his club would end his contract in the event of such a situation.- so the coaches should ensure safety training is included in their coaching program.

The laws is in place - but the adherence is not in place and varies widely - also impeded by the public when red cards are issued during matches. The moaning going on endlessly on this site on card issues reminds me of a funny incident about weestling - a friend of mine and I attended a wrestling competition in Pretoria and in front of us were seeted a muscled and fat "Boeretannie" and her puny and underweight husband. As the wrestling continued - she got so excited she screamed "Ons will bloed sien" and in her excitement gtrabbed the neck of her husband.- poor man one can only suspect what she was like as a wife, A real "Liefie" armed with a "koek roller" in the case of Oom Kaspaas.

I’ve been riding bikes all my life, and the dangers are relative.

From racing Motocross and Driving Fast road Bikes ( Honda Fireblade RR, Suzuki GSXR)

With motorcycles, most accidents come down to human error or taking unnecessary chances.

Ride smartly , stay alert with your eyes open and your risk drops massively.

Rugby is different because you deliberately put yourself in harm’s way every time you take the Field.

The whole point is heavy contact: tackling, rucking, scrumming. Collisions are guaranteed.

That’s why rugby players are far more prone to injuries and long term issues like CTE, because you’re repeatedly exposing your brain and body to trauma, not just the possibility of it.

Which GSXR did you ride M, I had both the 750 and the 1000 at various points? The difference in risk is the worse case event possibility on a bike…two of my high school class mates died on motor cycles. I was inches from death myself.

Here’s how it happened. I was picking up my bike after a service riding back home. I wasn’t going particularly fast and 2 cars in front of me wouldn’t yield. So I went around them in the middle lane, normal practice in the States.

I went on at a pace above there’s when I caught something coming at my side, it was a BMW one of the two cars, veering into me. My instant reaction was to punch the bars to go sharp left….and I had to straighten before hitting a metre high concrete lane divider. I did within inches/micro seconds….if I hit the divider I’d have flown off the bike into the oncoming traffic.

The guy on the BMW thought it was a joke, on a bike nothing is a joke.

The article is in Rugby News on the right Chip, you can read it there.

Gsxr 750 Moz. I Have driven the 1000cc, but it’s to much power to use properly on the Road.

On the Track is better. Same Story with Honda Fire Blade RR. I owned a K5 750 in Germany.

Right now I have a Yamaha XVS 650 and 1100 , 70 Degree V Twin Air Cooled Cruiser’s .

But I would like to Get another GSXR 750, so much Fun :)

The 750 is a beautifully balanced bike…you’ve owned some nice equipment M.

Its kak drivers that kept me away from bikes ... on a bike you're invisible to many of em

There seems to be a ton of injuries in general - players are asked to play a ridiculous amount of rugby now. In the amateur era in SA you had the Currie Cup and maybe a test series or two every year with a five or six month season. Now there's rugby all year round and the game has become all about dominating collisions and less about skill and finding space. I found this article from 2023 that hints at a solution for effective headgear having been found. Haven't heard anything about it since. Whether it's something that will be widely adapted at all - probably not.

One thing's for certain - you're not going to make the game safer with new laws. It remains a chaotic contact sport and dangerous collisions will happen regardless.

Also, are the players managed responsibly? PSDT apparently got concussion in the first round RC against Aus. Two weeks later he is set to play a heavy contact game of rugby again.

Yes Moz the K5 was something nice to own in Germany, especially with the no speed limits Autobahn:)

The Yamaha,s that I own now, is also fun with a lot of Torque and lovely for longer tours.

And yes Bobbok you always have to be on the lookout for bad car driver’s. It’s a part of bike driving that you have to think for other people.

But bike riding ultimately makes you a much safer car driver….the awareness factor.

For a host of reasons 1970 rugby was more about the running part of the game….more fun to watch and inherently less dangerous.

Liked the early 80s more...even with Naas at the helm.