Nigel Owens Brilliantly Responds To Fresh Calls For Tackling To Be Banned In Schools Rugby

Well said Nigel.

The UK’s chief medical officers (CMOs) are being urged to protect children from the risks of rugby injuries by removing contact from schools rugby. Prof Allyson Pollock, from Newcastle University has presented new evidence that banning tackling would reduce concussion, head and neck injuries.

Last year, the CMOs rejected a call for a ban on tackling in youth rugby, but Prof. Pollock has urged them to reconsider their decision based on the new findings.

Writing in an opinion piece for the BMJ, Prof Pollock and Graham Kirkwood, also from Newcastle University, said that governments had “a duty to protect children from risks of injury and to ensure safety of children” under a United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 19).

“We call on the chief medical officers to act on the evidence and advise the UK government to put the interests of the child before those of corporate professional rugby unions and remove harmful contact from the school game.” Pollock wrote

Nigel Owens is one of the first leading rugby figures to respond to this latest call to ban tackling, and he’s far from impressed.

You can read more about the report on the BBC website here.