Lewis Moody echoes Progressive Rugby’s calls for World Rugby to mandate contact training limits
This is based on a piece by www.dailymail.co.uk
Lewis Moody has has echoed Progressive Rugby’s calls for World Rugby to mandate their directives on contact training limits in a bid to reduce head injuries and concussions, and improve player welfare.
The former England captain also highlighted how Harlequins and Gloucester’s approaches to managing the workloads of their squads was paying dividends.
This week, rugby's governing body changed their concussion protocols. From July 1, any player that suffers a concussion will be stood down for a minimum of 12 days.
Currently, a player can return to action seven days after a concussion if they pass the return-to-play protocols.
Former England captain Moody, who has had his own battles with head problems, told Sportsmail: 'Is rugby doing enough on player welfare? I don't think so. More needs to be done and, most importantly, it needs to be done quicker.
'I've seen World Rugby has brought in recommendations on the amount of contact training a team should do. It's pretty obvious the amount of contact a player does in the week is the key thing.
'People might hear me say that and think I'm being a hypocrite because I played for Leicester at a time when we had brutal training sessions. But the key thing is we now have new information about the brain and on head injuries and how rugby can affect players in the future.'
Last year, World Rugby issued guidance which recommended teams do a maximum of 15 minutes of full contact training a week across a maximum of two days. But that and other guidance is a recommendation to teams, not a rule.
'It's been interesting to see Harlequins and Gloucester see an improvement in performance from monitoring training loads,' said Moody.
'That has to be the way forward and I'd like to see World Rugby issue clear directives on how much contact teams should be limited to in a week.
'I think the teams should have to stick to them for the good of the players. It's time for clear rules and not just advisories or trials.'
A spokesperson for Progressive Rugby said: “We could not agree with Lewis more. Our concern is that if contact training limits are not mandated, the temptation for coaching teams in a high pressure environment to increase player workloads in a bid to find an edge may prove irresistible.”
Lewis Moody is an ambassador for The Drake Foundation, committed to funding research into head injuries.drakefoundation.org
“I think the teams should have to stick to them for the good of the players. It's time for clear rules and not just advisories or trials.”