There was a strong argument supporting the banning of the shoulder charge both in rugby union and rugby league. Luckily, there hadn't been a deadly accident. But it could have been just that, deadly. It could have killed a player.
But it shows just how much those who make the rules know about the game, because the same damage can be done by a ball-carrier trying to evade a tackle (or smash straight through it).
Both league and union have changed dramatically in the last 10 years and are actually starting to look alike in many ways.
In league, because the defensive players need to be back 10m at the play-the-ball, a strange element has crept into the game under a false name. In years gone by, when players just put the ball under their arm and charged at the opposition with no intention of passing the ball, it was called barging.
And a player, who could only barge soon found himself in reserve grade because he wasn't deemed to have the skill to pass before, at or through the defensive line. These players were a dime a dozen.
Barging now comes under the valuable statistic called 'hit-ups'. Occasionally the player will drop the ball out the back and some commentators will gush more than a Rotorua geyser, calling the play a great 'offload'.
Very little skill is required. It just helps if you're bigger than the player trying to tackle you.
But from these hit-ups, the dangerous practice of the ball-carrier barging into the tackler using his shoulder in a deliberate shoulder charge has crept in and gone unpunished.
Similar barging methods are also common place in the 15-man game. It is killing the game and it's only a matter of time before it kills a player.
Where is the skill in barging?
The same goes for players in rugby union who are now flying into rucks at a million miles an hour straight into the backs of players on the ground totally unprepared for such a collision. Some of the 'highlights' we see are just sickening.
I coached in an era when some of the toughest players of all time were running around but they all had a degree of skill in their passing games - more so than rugby and league players of today.
It's a folly trying to compare eras but someone needs to take responsibility because, if not, we will have a tragedy both games will find impossible to recover from. Parents will certainly keep their kids from playing.
The corporate world running the codes now don't inspire me. Most have never heard the sound of the sprigs on concrete and I don't think they have the experience or respect to make the changes needed.
Commentators Keith Quinn and Ray Warren are two I would love to see involved because they have seen it all.
They care for players and it comes through in their commentary, even if we don't hear as much of Quinn as we should do.
But whoever it is, someone has to before we are mourning a tragic accident that could have been avoided.
