Rugby is now bigger than ever – the wages, the stadia and, most of all, the bodies. But are players increasing in size and strength at the expense of safety? MH investigates whether contact sports are becoming too powerful for their own good.
It was Eddie Jones’ first weekend in his new post as head coach of the England rugby union team: time to start clearing his mind for the big questions of the Six Nations’ team selection. ect Jones was appointed with the hope that he’d produce a side at once precocious, thrilling and imaginative. Henry Slade of Exeter Chiefs would certainly have been in mind. A player of style and invention, Slade can play at centre or at fly-half. And at just 22, he’s one for the future, alright. But that same weekend, Slade sustained a knock that ruled him out of competition for months.
A classic rugby injury, it came at the breakdown: the period after a tackle, when both teams compete for the ball. Slade – all 6ft 2in and 92kg of him – braced himself over the tackled player to grapple for the ball. His planted leg took the impact of the two opposing players. His leg snapped and the ankle dislocated – procedures necessitating a lengthy recovery. Rhys Webb, a Welsh scrum-half, missed last year’s World Cup because of an injury resulting from similar circumstances. Other promising players, Will Fraser and Christian Wade, have had their careers disrupted by the same sort of thing – many have had multiple surgeries before their 25th birthdays – and yet more risk permanent damage by playing through the agony, or taking pain relief injections before big matches. Both Wales and Ireland can justifiably blame premature World Cup exits on a slew of injuries to key players. In the case of the Welsh, almost their entire starting back line was signed off.
Rugby is a violent game. It has always been: the physical courage it requires to take part is a major part of the attraction for both players and spectators.
This story is from the April 2016 edition of Men's Health UK.
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This story is from the April 2016 edition of Men's Health UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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