Rugby and concussion: tantamount to child abuse?
Academics' headline-grabbing claim has been described as 'verging on insulting'
A report by academics that claims children's rugby could be a form of child abuse has sparked a flood of criticism.
"Two centuries after the birth of rugby on school playing fields", the experts say the game "should be banned among under-18s", said The Times.
'Abusive to a child's brain'
The researchers, from the universities of Winchester, Nottingham Trent and Bournemouth, argued that the risk of major injury in the game goes against child abuse laws.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
They found that "knocks to the head" can lead to dementia or Parkinson's, and that children who started playing younger are more likely to risk brain trauma, compared to those who took up the game at an older age.
Speaking to The Times, Eric Anderson, a professor of sport at the University of Winchester who led the study, said: "These collisions cause cognitive harm and increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia; they are therefore abusive to a child's brain."
He added that our "cultural perception is that striking a child outside sport is abuse" but "striking a child in sport is somehow socially acceptable". It "doesn't matter what the social context is, the brain is damaged in both", he said.
The point that the academics were "trying to make will be lost in the melee" that greeted their headline-grabbing use of the word "abuse", said Ross Clark in The Spectator. This is frustrating because, "had it been expressed in more moderate language", he would find himself "fully in agreement" with the authors.
There is a "serious risk of injury, and one which seems to be growing" because "the sport seems to be becoming ever more physical, and children are growing bigger and heavier from a young age".
The words of a "rugby-loving parent" who provides first aid to a team of schoolboys in Sussex are remembered by Sean Ingle in The Guardian. "It is not until you have cradled the head of someone else's son, who is then unable to stand unassisted, that it really hits home how dangerous this game can be," they told him.
"With every passing year," said Ingle, "what we know about the dangers of head impacts continues to evolve" and "rugby will have to as well".
'Verging on insulting'
"Can they really mean it, though?" asked David Horspool in The Spectator. There are also "risks" in "other children's activities, including football, cycling and swimming", but "no one advocating for those sports is intentionally subjecting children to harm".
Vocabulary "never ceases to amaze me", wrote the former England rugby union international Will Greenwood in The Telegraph, but to call rugby "child abuse" is "aggressive, verging on insulting".
The "entire landscape around injuries – of the head or otherwise – in rugby has shifted enormously in the past 20 years", he said. Although "historically" players were not "well looked after", those days are "long gone", so there is "no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater".
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson fears that there could be a drive to ban rugby altogether. "If we keep going like this,", said the former PM in the Daily Mail, the "vast army" of "finger-wagging, cigar-snatching, mask-wearing, Covid-maddened health and safety fanatics" is "going to keep pushing us back, our boots skidding in the mud", until they have "driven the oval ball right off the national pitch".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Pros and cons of tariffs
Pros and Cons Mainstream economists are 'generally sceptical' levies on imports can protect domestic industries and promote prosperity
By The Week UK Published
-
The best islands to visit in Croatia
The Week Recommends Venture beyond Dubrovnik to discover the Adriatic Coast's hidden gems
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Swiss bliss: Chenot Palace Weggis takes wellness to the next level
The Blend Heath retreat on Switzerland's Lake Lucerne offers a mid-winter reset
By Felix Bischof Published
-
New women's basketball league looks to build on the sport's success with fans
In the Spotlight Unrivaled will provide an offseason opportunity for WNBA players
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How should the cricketing world handle Afghanistan?
Talking Point England under pressure to boycott upcoming men's match against the nation, which remains an ICC member despite Taliban ban on women's team
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The biggest sporting events of 2025
The Explainer Women's Rugby World Cup and African Cup of Nations are among sporting highlights this coming year
By The Week UK Published
-
Chennai's chess champions
In The Spotlight The Indian city is 'churning out' a flood of chess 'wizards' and 'geniuses'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
How much is Juan Soto worth?
Today's big question Will the New York Mets regret the record-setting mega-contract signed by the coveted outfielder?
By David Faris Published
-
Women are getting their own baseball league again
In the Spotlight The league is on track to debut in 2026
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Will Gary Lineker's departure be an own goal for the BBC?
Today's Big Question Former star striker turned highest-paid presenter will leave Match of the Day after 25 years, with BBC head of sport reportedly declining to offer him a contract
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe roiled by attacks on Israeli soccer fans
Speed Read Israeli fans supporting the Maccabi Tel Aviv team clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in 'antisemitic attacks,' Dutch authorities said
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published