Broken necks and Rugby

I think the former.

Probably true. However, there's nothing like seeing a six-foot wheelchair-bound man undergo manual bowel evacuation to reinforce a prejudice.

The risks in skydiving or skiing are inherent and obvious. Are the risks and consequences of spinal injury explained to young players?

I think that they are probably addressed albeit indirectly. A good coach will endeavour to instill best practice especially with youngsters and it is up to parents to involve themselves as well.
Young players believe themselves to be indistructable and as such are their own worst enemies.
I knew a wonderful young man some years ago who was spear tackled in a League game and had to leave the field. He was allowed to play the following week, was heavily tackled again and went into a coma. He came out of it after a few days but is now brain damaged. The lack of responsibility by his club cost him his fiance, his career, and his future.

The point I'm trying to make is that all contact sports are hazardous. Many different injuries can occur. Skill levals vary and some players at junior leval try to make up for this by over-compensation in the physical arena.
Whether this is in scrummaging, rucks, mauls, tackling sooner or later it will cause that leval of injury you are talking about.
At the elite leval a player recently sued successfully against a dual spear tackle and won. But money will never replace mental and physical well being.

Since the advent of professionalism (world wide) in rugby union there have been huge strides made in terms of strength and fitness levels, and a lot of this is because players now have the time to train properly!

Spear tackles are one of those monstrous practices that have been gradually hounded out of the sport over recent years. Even so, yes there is a risk of serious injury but I think it fair to say that no player in his right mind would sign to become a professional rugby player if he didn't have some idea of the risks involved.

I salute them for providing the sort of fulsome commitment that led to a fantastic spectacle yesterday:- France v Wales in Paris - what a game.

Cheers,

JR

What about Andy Farrell making ther switch from league to union, union bosses are saying that they want him for the 2007 world cup, even though he hasnt played a game of union yet....hmmm.

As you may be aware several of our top League players have been wooed to Union by the lure of World Cups and a new challenge. So far they are all backs and all have made successful transitions. There has been no move to approach forwards, maybe the games are like chalk and cheese in the engine room. Years ago Union forwards who went for the big money then available in League were total failures even though they were top of their tree.
I think your Andy will make it. He has a bit between the ears which will be a good starting point and he certainly will be as fit as most of the ra ras. Nice to see the Welsh winning. I have a soft spot for them first reading about Welsh Union fanaticism and what it means in " How Green Was My Valley."
Any Welsh Namies out there take a bow.

Thanks a lot Lomo

As an ex prop (junior club level) I would say that I had more problems with ribs, nose and cheek bone. Incorrect posture (my fault, was hungover) and boring caused me to pop the cartilage in my rib cage - very painful. I can't remember the number of times a fist came from the murky second row and said hellow to my face.

I played in South Wales and South East England - starting at 8 years old and stopped at 29 after a second broken leg (car accident) and moving abroad. I was lucky in that I don't have much of a neck but posture, conditioning and correct weight training help minimise the risk of spinal injury. 25+ years ago my coach (I was 13) emphasised the importance of body posture and feet position as improving my performance and minimising the risk of harm - so I think we were aware. I think that the problem is that spinal injuries are more prevalent when you have heavier, more muscular bodies and harder contact. That said, hyperextension injuries were significantly more prevalent than neck injuries when I was playing. Also, I remember more people being advised to stop because of concussion rather than a neck injury.

There's a lot of nonsense spoken about scrummaging, but on reflection I think that you should probably have non-competitive scrummaging up to age 16 but train on technique. I loved my rugby and the contact was all part of that enjoyment. I have to be honest, I think I did more damage to myself and others on the judo mat than I ever did on the rugby field.

I ski regularly now, and the lack of fear of falling on hard ground instilled from rugby plus knowing how to fall correctly have helped significantly with my confidence and control when going down very steep slopes at speed.