Rugby Player Welfare Part 1: The Canary in the Coal Mine

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 27, 2013

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The damning revelations that came to light this week, courtesy of veteran Scotland winger Rory Lamont, were revealed amidst a flurry of troubling reports concerning player trauma in contact sports; many of which are beginning to cause increasing concern within the global rugby community.

Your humble correspondent was also in the middle of conducting in-depth research into player welfare in rugby when Lamont's comments in The Scotsman pierced the tragic silence that seems to cover these issues in the modern game.

I told them [medics and coaches] I couldn’t play and was looking at pulling myself out. I had done it once before, also against the All Blacks [in 2008], when I had a bad shoulder injury, but they disagreed and said it was in my head.

So I had medics in one ear, coaches in the other. I want to play more than anyone and my body’s saying ‘no, no, no ...’ Next day, I’m doing the warm-up at Murrayfield and the quad’s stiff, my head is all over the place. I’m looking at the crowds and thinking I shouldn’t be here.

I put it out of my mind and concentrate on my first job, to sprint from the kick-off and make the first tackle. The whistle goes, and I take off and, after about 15 metres, I feel something go ffffft in my thigh and the pain suddenly becomes excruciating.

So, I get it treated, let it ease and stay on until half-time. I did my best but I played like shit. I never missed a tackle, because I couldn’t get near them. We lost four tries and Mike Blair to injury. I told them at half-time ‘I can’t stay on’, and they weren’t happy. But I stayed off. We lose heavily, a coach asks me after the game if I have a mental issue with playing the All Blacks. I just shake my head.

These recollections from Lamont's time as a professional and with the Scottish national team help confirm the worst for many who had harbou...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

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