In Sir Bill we trust - why we believe concussion protocols have to change
This article was written by Progressive Rugby
Sir Bill Beaumont, World Rugby chairman, has told the Telegraph about new player welfare initiatives as he insists no players suffering from early onset of dementia “will be left behind” by the game.
Why arguably rugby’s leading figure chose to spread this news by speaking to a media outlet behind a paywall is up for debate, but in fairness the press team will be rightly confident of the story filtering wider in today’s media age. We at Progressive Rugby are simply proving that strategy’s effectiveness.
In any event, Beaumont re-iterated that the testimonies about former players suffering with early onset dementia had been “tough to hear” and added: “To the former players who are struggling, I say your rugby family cares deeply and I will not rest until we understand how we can make rugby as safe as possible.”
The raft of new measures include the roll out of free-to-access brain health clinics for retired male and female elite rugby players and a global consultation process with players, supporters and the media that will begin during the Six Nations Championship which he says will help inform shaping the future of the game.
In addition, World Rugby is set to act on the ‘encouraging’ outcomes of the Otago instrumented mouthguards study, with full results expected by May, which is the same month that the global law trials introduced last year to improve player welfare, including the 50/22 drop-out and outlawing of the ‘flying wedge,’ will be considered for adoption into law by the World Rugby council.
On the face of it, Beaumont is just the man to lead rugby’s transitional era when it comes to player welfare. A Fylde RFC stalwart, he first played for England aged 22, and went on to make a then record 34 appearances for a second row. In that time, he captained the team 21 times including a memorable 1980 Grand Slam.
Having played three tests for the British and Irish Lions on the 1977 trip to New Zealand, the Five Nations success saw him named captain for the 1980 South Africa. Sadly neither tour yielded a precious series win.
But just two years later, Beaumont was forced to retire from the game on medical advice because of successive concussions and neck injuries.
He was 29.
So - who better to understand the consequences of head injuries and drive the player welfare revolution as the game tries to negotiate the notoriously dangerous waters of fading popularity and plummeting playing numbers in the men’s game?
Under his leadership, World Rugby have announced a plethora of welcome player welfare initiatives including, prior to the most recent, contract training time guidelines and independent concussions consultants.
Which all beg the question, why on earth doesn’t he just address the Graduated Return to Play (GRTP) protocol - the big grey grumpy fella lurking in the corner of every player welfare press conference or announcement?
Because until he does, Beaumont could announce 100 welfare initiatives, but critics like Progressive Rugby will always point back to the fact, on his watch, World Rugby is facilitating the continuation of a concussion protocol that allows players who have suffered a brain injury to return in time for the following ‘big’ match.
The fact is that in the professional era rugby is big business, and when the chips are down the pressure that comes with elite sport has the potential to lead to bad decisions from players, coaches and backroom staff.
Former Ireland and Leinster backrower flanker Kevin McLaughlin, who himself retired due to concussion, once said: “I think a coach can say ‘I will always look after my player’ but when the pressure comes on in the heat of a match, with 20 minutes to go and you are three points up, and your best player goes down - are you going to make the right decision…?”
Players too are their own worst enemies, for a host of different reasons.
Former Wasp and Samoa international Daniel Leo, now a wonderful advocate for pacific islander players, says in the Rugby Pass documentary ‘The True Price of Concussion in Rugby’ that Islanders would feel obliged to hide concussion and play through it because they were sending money home to their families.
It’s true too, that elite athletes, by their nature, are fiercely competitive and subject to the internal struggles that gladiatorial spirit brings, whether it be keeping their place in the side, standing in the group or fears of impending contract negotiations.
As if proof were needed, the most recent British and Irish Lions tour did World Rugby, Beaumont and the veneer of player welfare no favours either, quite apart from it being a miserable excuse for a series.
Seeing Exeter Chief’s hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie merrily training on the tour Instagram account just four days after so publicly and worryingly being knocked clean out in the Guinness Premiership final was bad enough.
But to see him named needlessly in the squad for the first match was plain ridiculous. Irrespective of if he was ‘cleared’ by an independent concussion consultant (over zoom incidentally), how he passed the ‘robust’ six stage GTRP protocol while flying thousands of miles to first Scotland and then South Africa remains a mystery that has never been adequately explained.
As a journalist told us: “It’s a combination of responsibility. The doctors need to look after the player and the player needs to be honest with the doctors. But let’s face it, in Cowan-Dickie’s case if the next game was away at Worcester there’s absolutely no chance he would have played. Because it’s the Lions some bad decisions have been made.”
Continued below…..
So surely, the easiest of steps is to heed the calls for an extended return to play protocol to take decisions out of the hands of coaches, players, medics? Especially given a number of highly respected experts have publicly acknowledged that a two-week stand down is needed including their own brain health advisor Professor Willie Stewart and New Zealand Rugby chief scientist Ken Quarrie.
Indeed, the Rugby Football League (RFL) – the governing body of rugby league in England - have very recently extended the protocol from 7 days to 11. This progressive decision, which we applaud, has been made despite the threat of legal action being brought by players who have suffered brain injuries.
For a year now, Progressive Rugby has been asking that rugby union extends it’s current six-stage protocol so that no player can return before 12 days. This acknowledges valid concerns around the counter-productive risk of under reporting if, at this stage, the stand down was increased to three weeks or more.
We had long speculated amongst ourselves that perhaps, somewhat perversely, the threat of legal action was in fact binding the wrists of World Rugby when it came to the GRTP. That positively addressing it would give ammunition to plaintiffs that governing body were somehow liable for the damage the first wave of professionals had suffered.
But now rugby league has acted, it’s becoming increasingly hard to understand why the body retains its ‘evidence not emotion’ approach and can’t be seen to err on the side of caution.
Progressive Rugby are not asking for the earth. Hoorah for all the initiatives promising future benefits but let’s see a decision that has a positive impact right away so the short and long-term health of players, and in turn the reputation and legacy of this great game, can be better protected.
So please Sir Bill – make it happen.
What Sir Bill told the Telegraph
“We have continued to hear some moving personal testimonies from our game’s former servants about their fears and concerns around early onset dementia.
“These have been tough to hear – and I commend them for their bravery in speaking out. The rugby family has always supported its own – you do not retire from that family when you hang up your boots – and this is why our commitment to player welfare is more important than ever.
“To the former players who are struggling, I say your rugby family cares deeply and I will not rest until we understand how we can make rugby as safe as possible. No former player will be left behind.”
“I want our approach to player welfare to be shaped by everyone who has a stake in our game – from fans, to players, coaches, and medical staff,” added Beaumont.
“To that end, we will undertake rugby’s widest ever consultation on player welfare, with an intention to launch this during the Six Nations.”
He added: “We are taking our support for player welfare to the next level.
“We must not and will not stand still. As a sport, rugby must continue to renew our mandate from parents and players to grow participation in the game, by demonstrating progressive change.
“We will implement our brain health action plan, invest to better identify and manage head injuries, further promote individualised risk-based rehabilitation following a head injury, support former players who have worries about their brain health via clinics and access to specialist support and information, and to further understand any links between the game and neurodegenerative diseases.
“We will also sign innovative technology and research partnerships that will inform meaningful changes.
“We will continue to show up on player welfare, from our work with former players to school education and global roll out of evidence-based injury prevention programmes such as Tackle Ready and Activate.
“Like many sports, rugby is not a game that is risk-free. But it is a sport that cares deeply for and prioritises its players, in particular around concussion and head injury, and will continue to do so.
“I want parents across the world to view rugby as a game that they want their sons and daughters to play, because of the many benefits it brings. Those benefits have been thrown into stark relief by their absence during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
