Has Rugby Got Too Hard on the Body

[GB72]

Just seen the news that another good player, Jordan Turner Hall, has had to retire at 27. That comes shortly after Anthony Allen had to retire at Tigers and it seems that getting past your mid 20s is not seen as a pretty long career in playing rugby.

With the emphasis on size, gym work and bulking up, it just seems that the sport has got to a stage where it is almost too much for most bodies to take. The impacts are massive and it is now not unusual for players to spend half the season injured.

All of that is not taking into account the problems with concussion seen with the likes of George North and Mike Brown.

Sadly there has now even been deaths on the pitch.

Is it time for the rugby authorities to take it seriously and look to reducing the bulk of players (changing the rules to make the game less stop/start to increase the focus on endurance and stamina rather than short bursts of energy) or is it just inevitable that a rugby career is a short one.

 

[Rooter]

I think there is only so much of a battering the body can take week in week out. I remember watching the Tigers play Irish last year and Tuilanga absolutely smashed his oppo. There has to be (as per above retirements!) only so many of these before the body gives up.

How to change it? without changing the fundamental of the game i see its going to be difficult! Mandatory padding? everyone wears scrum caps? Its a really tricky one, gone are the days where a neal back would be effective at the top level. While he was one hell of a player, i dont think he would cut it in todays game.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

A guy I play golf with knows someone on the books at Newcastle Falcons. He says that the forwards regularly get their shoulders cleared of floating bone fragments at the end of a season. It is seen as the norm. Ouch. I don't know if you can put the genie back in the bottle as it is not about equipment it is people. I think careers will become shorter and the players will be in big trouble by their mid 40's. Not one to encourage your sons to play.

In terms of padding, the Anericans are finding that padding and helmets are encouraging big, crowd pleasing hits as the players feel protected so any improvements there have to be thought about so they do not have the opposite effect.

 

[patricks148]

prob right, even am Rugby when i still played still back in the early 90's at over 6 foot was was big for a back and most other wingers were tiny. I'd be a dwarf compared to today. Luckily i got my knee broken in 7 places by a late tackle so n ever played after 95

 

[drdel]

Back when I played as a winger most of us weighed little more than 14st to keep our speed up. Today's players manage to get to sprinter level speeds but weigh must more. Since the energy is proportional to the square of their speed body slams are so much harder and, obviously, any injuries will be worse.

The potential money in sport has encouraged finely tuned training and diets so that sportsmen and women are achieving fantastic performance. Unfortunately the strength of the body's bones, cartilage hasn't changed at the same rate so I fear more and more of these same people will suffer injuries and skeletal stress related problems as they age.

 

[pendodave]

Would it be possible to put an overall weight limit on teams? Call it a 'suspiciously large muscularity cap' or something...

 

[Foxholer]

In terms of padding, the Anericans are finding that padding and helmets are encouraging big, crowd pleasing hits as the players feel protected so any improvements there have to be thought about so they do not have the opposite effect.

Upper body protection - brought in when the game became professional - is indeed one of the major reasons why hits got harder. There is plenty of documentation about the subsequent increase in shoulder (in particular) and other injuries.

Scrums are meant to be getting safer, but that doesn't mean they are safe! I met an ex Scotland A guy (Prop/2nd-Row) who suffered a broken neck, but took over a month to realise it! He hit a 9-iron 190+ btw!!

 

[User62651]

Watching the 7's at Ibrox for Commonwealth Games last yr showed an element of constant running and pace to the game which was exciting and seems to have got lost somewhere in the 15s game where they spend so much time stopped. Maybe reducing teams to 12 or 13 and increase duration to 90 minutes and replacing penalties with yardage gains would demand more aerobic fitness and less bulk.

 

[Foxholer]

Watching the 7's at Ibrox for Commonwealth Games last yr showed an element of constant running and pace to the game which was exciting and seems to have got lost somewhere in the 15s game where they spend so much time stopped. Maybe reducing teams to 12 or 13 and increase duration to 90 minutes and replacing penalties with yardage gains would demand more aerobic fitness and less bulk.

Why not also eliminate line-outs and make scrums just another method of getting the ball back into play too!

Though the different fitness requirement of (professional) League over (Amateur at the time) Union was clearly demonstrated in a 7s tournament some years ago!

The ability to have so many subs (7) has also meant that 'lasting the game' hasn't been so essential either.

 

[User62651]

Scrums are ok for the viewer and keep players working, penalties are rubbish for viewing and gives every player bar the kicker a big rest.
Good idea about reducing subs though.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Watching the 7's at Ibrox for Commonwealth Games last yr showed an element of constant running and pace to the game which was exciting and seems to have got lost somewhere in the 15s game where they spend so much time stopped. Maybe reducing teams to 12 or 13 and increase duration to 90 minutes and replacing penalties with yardage gains would demand more aerobic fitness and less bulk.

You are touching on rugby league with that. Those are big boys but they tackle differently. Does anyone know if they have the same injury issues as union or does the difference in styles mean there are less?

 

[fundy]

prob right, even am Rugby when i still played still back in the early 90's at over 6 foot was was big for a back and most other wingers were tiny. I'd be a dwarf compared to today. Luckily i got my knee broken in 7 places by a late tackle so n ever played after 95

Sounds familiar!!! Dislocated mine and snapped the ligaments the same year! Only a few weeks before that an oppos kneecap was broken in a tackle, never ever heard a grown man scream like that before or since!

 

[Rooter]

You should have tried being a fly half at 5ft 10 and 11 stone! Games on a saturday, could normally walk properly and move my limbs just in time for Tuesday night training.

Rugby certainly ruined me, some high speed bike crashes have helped, but rugby is certainly guilty for my dodgy knees, numerous disfigured fingers, ropey shoulder. Lucky i still have my looks really, i could often be heard at the bottom of a ruck shouting "not the face, not the face"

 

[Crazyface]

You are touching on rugby league with that. Those are big boys but they tackle differently. Does anyone know if they have the same injury issues as union or does the difference in styles mean there are less?

Too late. Union already, to me, looks exactly like League. Rucks and mauls, I never understood the difference even when playing, do not exist. The forwards all stand away waiting for the ball to appear , a la League, then charge at it. I stopped watching it years ago. It's as dull as ditchwater.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Worldwide 7's rugby is a fast growing sport.
How to make it a regular spectator sport might be a hard sell.

Time delays at scrums is harming the Union game, 5 player scrums may be the answer.

Never really liked League Rugby, always seems very boring and predictable to me.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

16-18 stone men all muscle running sub 11 sec 100m is going to hurt when colliding with someone else

It's no surprise that people are starting to suffer early in their career

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It's no surprise but where do you now draw the line.

 

[GB72]

Most of the current suggestions are based around increasing the time that yhe ball is in play and minimising rest periods so as those players that are all bulk and explosive power are left wanting as they lack the stamina and ability to carry that weight around for prolonged periods. Alternatively you wait for a light nippy player to have the impact that lomu had and change the thinking again

 

[Hobbit]

You should have tried being a fly half at 5ft 10 and 11 stone! Games on a saturday, could normally walk properly and move my limbs just in time for Tuesday night training.

Rugby certainly ruined me, some high speed bike crashes have helped, but rugby is certainly guilty for my dodgy knees, numerous disfigured fingers, ropey shoulder. Lucky i still have my looks really, i could often be heard at the bottom of a ruck shouting "not the face, not the face"

Or 5'9" and 10st and fullback - yes I was slim and svelte of build once upon a time. I relied on speed and no commonsense. The only real danger was the odd big loose forward breaking from the scrum or the odd(rare) back that was built more like the current ones. Sadly, a broken neck put an end to my career, although at 35 I was losing a little bit of speed. And those injuries that niggled towards the end of my career certainly bite with a vengeance now.

 

[GB72]

Played 27 years in the front row at tight head and came out pretty unscathed. Ears still intact. Shoulder will need surgery one day and my back plays up every now and again but considering how some of the people I played with are now permanently walking wounded I guess I got out at the right time. Sadly still cannot stand and watch my old club without wanting to find a pair of boots and get on the pitch