Are Rugby Union and Boxing Compatible at Elite Level?

Not long ago there was a bit of discussion in the Nz media by medical people on this topic on whether professional rugby players were getting the right advice by their own team doctors after receiving a concussion knock.

Actually the conclusion by the experts was that some doctors were not monitoring it very well either because they were not up to date with the tell tale signs of serious knocks or unfortunately some took a cavalier attitude to it i.e "its a contact sport and you will be ok!"

I hope the Nz and Aust rugby unions take a more stringent line on this very serious matter for the coming season even if it means making rugby franchises and its people accountable for serious head injuries to its players which could have been avoidable.

btw-Mark competitive boxing and footy don't mix. Its either one or the other. The heavy pounding of the head in boxing doubles the chances of that same person receiving a serious head injury after a rugby concussion.

I can cite Irish C.C. players who have other businesses outside of their professional career: Heaslip (restaurant) and P O'Connell (had a Construction outfit and has a few projects running concurrently).

Whatever profession they choose is their choice. A building site and a busy kitchen can be dangerous too but it's not the IRB's place, or the Home Union's, to disallow Citizens from choosing a career.

I get the point you are making, and though it is valid, certain boundaries must be respected.

I think kids have more sense than we credit them with; plus, boxing is an excellent discipline and every kid needs discipline.

But the emphasis on concussion is relatively new, isn't it? (there was always awareness but it wasn't enforced) The IRB have launched some new initiative and rules only recently to highlight it: I think Clarke is being side-lined to help get Media attention for the project. Not saying they don't care for his health but the timing is very useful in publicising the program.

I'd like to draw attention to another - utterly disgraceful - incident regarding concussed players being left on the field, but I'm very tired and will return to complete tomorrow.

In a 6N game in '12 or '13, Brian O'Driscoll was obviously concussed - C Healy pushed him out of his way because BOD was wandering around and Healy was defending the line. The ball went dead a few minutes later and BOD was assessed and taken off the field by the doctor. 5 mins later he was back on. That was professional negligence on behalf of everyone.

Frankly, given what we know about the risks of professional boxing, it boggles my mind that it is still legal in any civillized country. It's a holdover from a 19th century world when working class people were expected to put their lives on the line routinely as part of earning a (barely) living wage. But once you accept (and you have to) that this sort of thing still goes on, well then I guess anything becomes possible.

Many people in the sporting world still don't take concussions seriously -- you'll still hear jokes about getting your bell "rung". Ice hockey finally began to take notice after the NHLs marquee player (Sydney Crosby) had to sit out the better part of two years after coming back too quickly from a concussion. It took a massive class action suit by NFL players for the the American authorities to even admit that a problem might exist. In that type of culture, I have ceased being surprised by anything.

BLM