Doctors urge schools to ban tackling in rugby

[J.T]

Conclusions like that are usually drawn from fear. Maybe he found out that his wifes new shoes fit him a bit too well

You are absolutely correct, on the first point anyway.

I am afraid for future generations of men who are being taught as children now that "ruff and tumble" and acting manly (sp?) (no I am not talking about being an a sexist arse or anything) is somehow bad.

ok maybe I was being a bit dramatic, but that doesn't mean it isn't true.

Also coming out with a personal attack is hardly sporting now is it chap!

 

[antijoke]

You are absolutely correct, on the first point anyway.

I am afraid for future generations of men who are being taught as children now that "ruff and tumble" and acting manly (sp?) (no I am not talking about being an a sexist arse or anything) is somehow bad.

ok maybe I was being a bit dramatic, but that doesn't mean it isn't true.

Also coming out with a personal attack is hardly sporting now is it chap!

Talks about feminisation of men, then says a light hearted bit of banter is a personal attack, maybe you should've played rugby as a kid mate. You sound like you need toughening up a bit.

 

[balky12]

For me it's nothing to do with schools, it's more to do with clubs that you would send your kids to outside of school, that is where you develop a talent in a certain sport not 1 hour a week at school with a general PE teacher.

If little Johnny enjoys Rugby and shows an interest in it you send him off to an out of school club (weekend/evening) to further his development in that area, this is where he learns all about the game, how it's played and the rules of the game.

I see what you are saying. But when schools nowadays don't acknowledge winners and losers, but the 'taking part' that counts, people aren't brought up with a competitive edge.

Throw in bad grass root coaching and set ups. For example football. Full size 11 a-side pitches for all ages up until recently? Then look at the Europeans. Play 5/6/7/8/9/10/11 aside as you get older.

Finally, apologies football again, our best universities focus on Rugby, Europe? Football. Means Europe on average have smarter players.

All this translates into what you are seeing now in major tournaments, and sheer volumes of Europeans in English football leagues. Coupled with Englishman with overinflated egos.

We just aren't brought up with a competitive hunger anymore, and I think schools need to shoulder some of the blame and do something about it.

 

[J.T]

Talks about feminisation of men, then says a light hearted bit of banter is a personal attack, maybe you should've played rugby as a kid mate. You sound like you need toughening up a bit.

LOL.

 

[dowie]

What do you do if the majority want to play football one year or visa versa?

Do you let people opt out of rugby and not football or do you let them opt out of whichever and waste teachers staffing a small group while risking safety of a larger group by spreading the teacher thin there?

trivial problem, you either allocate according to choice or rotate kids each week or some won't get their first choice... any number of ways to organise/solve that

I dont see why it is such a big deal to make them run drills instead of contact matches. We ran drills for about 50% of the time did contact matches 25% of the time and touch matches other other 25%. Most schools cant accommodate your PE ideal.

any with more than one teacher supervising could

having all the kids play a sport aside from a handful who have to run around the pitch and then clean kit as a supposed 'deterrent' against a choice they might not even have been party to is just dumb when the main aim of the session in the first place is for the kids to play a team game - it is fairly trivial to have more options that just Rugby in most situations where you've got more than one teacher

 

[SPG]

Haha, not sure that would be a solution, I picked up injuries far more often (and more serious) playing hockey than I ever did in rugby!



Yeah, this is what we had; rugby in the summer on the grass pitch, hockey on the gravel pitch in the winter when the grass was a pool of mud.

hahaha

Nope Rugby was winter hell, the crazy things we did to keep legs warm, vicks vapour rub etc. Horrible at the time awesome in hindsight, character building stuff.

Hell there will be rope-swing police soon.

 

[Avenged7Fold]

wow, personal attack?

Hardly personal, was barely even a fun poking, sorry if it stung.

 

[J.T]

wow, personal attack?

Hardly personal, was barely even a fun poking, sorry if it stung.

It didn't mate, sticks and stones and all that, made me chuckle in fact.

 

[Avenged7Fold]

It isn't that being what you describe as manly is being taught as bad these days but rather being what is considered effeminate is more acceptable and the standard for manliness has changed. Before being manly was about things other than the modern day equivalent for the younger generation, for which manliness is associated with protein guzzling, gym lurkers who like to act like 'lads on tour' the whole time.

So rather than the populace becoming more effeminate, it has just become more acceptable to be openly effeminate and that the gruff manly lumberjack bear wrestling image of manliness has been replaced by another image birthed from this polished spray tan TV culture. There were cultures and times where masculinity was associated with long hair, short hair, attitudes of chivalry, recklessness, with wearing certain clothing. What is considered masculine is always changing and is just as much a fashion in lifestyle as anything else. At the end of the day, people will do what they want if they can, forcing someone to be another persons ideal of masculinity achieves nothing.

 

[Irish_Tom]

Personally I think it's a stupid idea. Rugby is a contact sport and it's fantastic.

That's coming from someone who has concussion a couple of times, and saw a friend get his knee dislocated (I can still hear his scream). Despite these injuries, we we're chomping at the bit to get back on the pitch as soon as we were recovered - and there's been no long-term damage.

The fact is, life is inherently risky. Organised sport is a great way of exposing youngsters to an element of risk within the confines of a (relatively) safe environment. Remove the risk completely and what's the point?

 

[J.T]

It isn't that being what you describe as manly is being taught as bad these days but rather being what is considered effeminate is more acceptable and the standard for manliness has changed. Before being manly was about things other than the modern day equivalent for the younger generation, for which manliness is associated with protein guzzling, gym lurkers who like to act like 'lads on tour' the whole time.

So rather than the populace becoming more effeminate, it has just become more acceptable to be openly effeminate and that the gruff manly lumberjack bear wrestling image of manliness has been replaced by another image birthed from this polished spray tan TV culture. There were cultures and times where masculinity was associated with long hair, short hair, attitudes of chivalry, recklessness, with wearing certain clothing. What is considered masculine is always changing and is just as much a fashion in lifestyle as anything else. At the end of the day, people will do what they want if they can, forcing someone to be another persons ideal of masculinity achieves nothing.

100% agree.

As long as there is a choice in the first place and you can make up your own mind rather than being forced one way or the other then all is good, I do however worry that things are going down the path of no choice and that is the bit that scares me.

 

[SPG]

There should be no choice, these are kids who are inherently stupid until they are 22.

 

[J.T]

There should be no choice, these are kids who are inherently stupid until they are 22.

Hahaha, nice Troll... almost had me there for a second!

 

[JayRuss]

I've played rugby since the age of 11, and yes during my schoolboy years there was concussion twice and a broken ankle along with minor breaks to fingers, But its part and parcel of the game, nobody forced me to play as such and the concequences are blatantly obvious even for a 11 year old. Even with hindsight of the injuries i would do it again 1000x over.

 

[Blackjack Davy]

My experience of schoolboy rugby is that kids will avoid putting themselves in danger.

Yeah except you don't get that choice, its "get on with it!" or be pointed out as a wuss in front of the whole class by the full blood neanderthal PE teacher, or at least thats how it was at my school.

I remember playing rugby at school one time, the "big" lad ran from one end to the other. Like a rhino on steroids. Nobody was going to try and stop him, apart from the "small" kid who stood his ground.
It all got very messy and an ambulance was called.

Thats hilarious and so totally sums up school PE classes.

 

[kissenger]

Tbf you can easily get a concussion playing rugby and even a single concussion can be life-changing.

 

[TheMightyTen]

The whole thing is utter tosh and a bunch of anti-everything medics wanting to be seen being seen.

Under correctly run programs contact skills are introduced over a period of years up to the point that scrummaging is eventually added to the field of play. To play Rugby one of the key skills you need to learn is actually how to take a hit and how to be fully prepared for it and removing that is dangerous and nonsensical, we'll have older teenagers and young men picking up far more debilitating injuries and tackling far more dangerously.

Where we do go wrong in this country is grouping Juniors on age when young people well into their middle teens can change shape and size constantly. We need to adopt the New Zealand model where juniors are grouped on size regardless of age, this allows all players to develop key handling skills and contact skills with people of a similar power and weight and stops the enjoyment being ruined by the "early developers" running over the top of the smaller players and actually stopping the big lads learning and understanding the keys skills of ball movement and space.

My Rugby Experience; I played from the age of 7 until I was 40 as a hooker at good club and county level and even had England Schoolboy and Colts trials. I now coach juniors and am currently doing my ref certificates as well.

 

[tlrBeta]

The whole thing is utter tosh and a bunch of anti-everything medics wanting to be seen being seen.

Under correctly run programs contact skills are introduced over a period of years up to the point that scrummaging is eventually added to the field of play. To play Rugby one of the key skills you need to learn is actually how to take a hit and how to be fully prepared for it and removing that is dangerous and nonsensical, we'll have older teenagers and young men picking up far more debilitating injuries and tackling far more dangerously.

Where we do go wrong in this country is grouping Juniors on age when young people well into their middle teens can change shape and size constantly. We need to adopt the New Zealand model where juniors are grouped on size regardless of age, this allows all players to develop key handling skills and contact skills with people of a similar power and weight and stops the enjoyment being ruined by the "early developers" running over the top of the smaller players and actually stopping the big lads learning and understanding the keys skills of ball movement and space.

My Rugby Experience; I played from the age of 7 until I was 40 as a hooker at good club and county level and even had England Schoolboy and Colts trials. I now coach juniors and am currently doing my ref certificates as well.

Great post, couldn't agree more.

 

[=XDC=FluphyBunny]

Don't force kids to play it by having an another option, but touch rugby only would have to have an eventual effect on the rugby as a sport.

No rugby when I was at school but to be fair we could make a game of hockey violent.

 

[Freefaller]

Ugh. Ridiculous. No wonder people are turning into girly football loving losers!

Playing rugby at school was such a massive thing for me, brought me out of my shell, let me do some excellent exercise, learned how to win, learned how to lose, learned how to work as a team, learned discipline and training.

Of course you will get coaches/teachers that are clueless but rugby can be played safely. I've received worse injuries through me being a prat (doing stunts on my bike or jumping out of trees) than playing rugby - and I played to club level. I played for 15 years.