Rugby: Senior players keen on concussion rules

Jerome Kaino. Photo / Getty Images

Having seen the success of the current trial concussion protocols, players from rugby's leading nations want to see them incorporated into the governing body's regulations ahead of the World Cup.

The International Rugby Players' Association have agreed they will lobby World Rugby to make the current concussion testing permanent, following a conference in London last week.

First introduced in 2012, concussion tests — where a player can temporarily be removed to be assessed — have become such an established part of the game that it now appears to be an anomaly the process is only a trial measure.

The trial has had a dramatically beneficial impact. Before its introduction, research found 56 per cent of players were returned to action in an unfit state. During the trial, that number has dropped to 13 per cent.

IRPA believe there is no reason why the trial process shouldn't be adopted into law, therefore, meaning it will become standard practice around the world.

The danger of not adopting the current practice wholesale is that it suggests such strong management of concussion is a temporary rather then permanent goal.

There is also, however remote, the prospect of the trial being scrapped by certain professional competitions and a return to the bad, old days of concussion being swept under the carpet by players and coaches.

Players don't want that scenario. The safest way for them to be protected long-term is for World Rugby to agree to write into the laws that any player who is suspected of being concussed can be taken off for 10 minutes to be assessed.

Ireland first-five Johnny Sexton, who is an IRPA board member, says: "As players, we have seen the positive results from the concussion trials first-hand, both in terms of player welfare and safeguarding the game.

"From a player perspective, we have entrusted IRPA to work with World Rugby and others to ensure our game protects its players and, I believe, great progress has been achieved.

"The management of concussion is constantly evolving and improving. Players are far more aware of concussion as a serious issue. Player safety is paramount and education plays a vital part in that. Players, coaches and all those associated with the game must ensure they are properly educated on the signs, symptoms and effects of concussion."

The testing is not the perfect solution by any means, with the likes of Jerome Kaino and Sonny Bill Williams being passed fit to continue playing in recent weeks after taking major blows to the head, only to then fail the same concussion test after the game.

There was also an incident in this year's Six Nations when Welsh wing George North appeared to be temporarily knocked out — something that should have resulted in him immediately leaving the field and not returning — yet he was allowed to play on.

There was also a truly ugly incident in the French Top 14 last year when Toulouse centre Florian Fritz was made to play on by his coach, despite having been knocked out and bleeding profusely from a head wound.

But while the testing hasn't eradicated the problem of players staying on the field when they shouldn't, it has been enormously successful in raising awareness of concussion and demanding coaches, players and management don't ignore it as they used to.

The last injury surveillance project out of the English Premiership showed that, for the second year in a row, concussion was the most prevalent injury. There were 54 concussions on match days during the 2012-2013 season and another five in training.

New Zealand's competitions show a similar trend and similarly high volumes of concussion.

In 2005, there were 4.5 concussions recorded for every 1000 hours of rugby played. In 2013, that number had jumped to 9.6 per 1000 hours. In eight years, the volume of recorded concussions has more than doubled in the elite game and most doctors don't believe that is due to more players suffering head knocks. They believe the higher number is almost exclusively a consequence of better diagnosis and a culture of transparency. No one is trying to cover up concussion any more.

World Rugby says they are determined to see the number of players returning to rugby while they are still concussed drop — to get to the point where there is not a single, elite player in any given year who is given the green light to play on when they are concussed.