Proposed " Class Action"

England and New Zealand players to wear special mouthguards containing head-impact monitors

CJB1 wrote: Tee hee ... "The football helmet is a piece of protective equipment used mainly made so Tom Brady can't kiss other players on the lips. "

Sport is 'marking its own homework' on athletes' brain injuries, say MPs

As Sid James commented above "If you put yourself willingly in the firing line with full knowledge of possible injuries then if it hits you  tough sh1* my friend".

Good points Marigold - problem is we realistically can't go back 40 years and the players are unlikely to shrink or indeed reduce their training load. 

Have been involved for many years with coaching at full range of ages and can honestly say i have never seen coaches encouraging contact as opposed to running through an available gap. What I have seen is coaches preparing players for the inevitable contact that happens in the game so they can deal with those situations. In fact footwork drills for front five players exist today to help them avoid defenders -never saw that in the days of Beaumont et al. Huge change has been the time spent on coaching defence and in particular on the organisation of team defence. Non tackling fly halves used to be celebrated and even play international rugby-these days they are not considered for selection.

Rucking Idiot wrote: Fully agree with the 3 statements above. Having gone to a grammar school when you had 1 term of rugby with the choice of a 2nd term. Because I boxed I was placed in the front-row. You learnt your trade through the pain of not getting it right. However, didn't get my "Wings" until my 1st adult game v a London Irish XV at the age of 15. I knew the risks but played for the love of the game for another 45 seasons. My back, neck, knees, ankles & hands let me know I played the game. Even so would I do it all over again yes without question. Keep you & yours safe looking forward to meeting for a beer next Autumn....

Thatbloke wrote: No-one is forced to play!

Edited by billesleyexile - 23 Dec 2020 at 13:25

Is there anything in here about the player knowing in advance of the risks involved in playing a contact sport and accepting those risks - it is a bit like a soldier who signs up during peacetime and when war arises trying to leave because I didn't join up for that....... it is a part of the role. Yes, there is an obligation to try and support the players but the liability doesn't sit with the RFU or the Clubs but with the player as they knew what they were engaging in.