Official West Hartlepool RFC

Good call about the other sports that pose dangers to health. I think someone in the article mentioned the fact that lots of people play RU safely.

The issue of kids taking part in exercise isn;t as black and white as people make out. Furthermore the government has launched a number of initiatives to try and encourage people to join their local sports clubs or simply take up some form of exercise, be it jogging, cycling etc.

To say they've done ****** all about encouraging people to take up more exercise is not entirely accurate.

Yes on both parts. There is always a risk to serious injury, but what do we do? Wrap up in cotton wool? i always hope no one ever gets a serious injury but will always happen. No magic wand:-/

I heard this on Radio2 this morning and couldn't believe what I was hearing.

When players are taught to scrummage correctly and safely it is of no greater risk to health than any other element of the game.

WIWAL - I used to play on St. Aidans field as a kid and it was great but I wouldn't say that the field is too big for the schools needs.

My mam is also a teacher there now - I strongly suspect that the reason all the school fields are fenced off is a safety measure to keep the kids in and those who are not supposed to be near kids out.

Perhaps someone can confirm.

FRLE - that is what I meant about a "safe environment"!
Yes, the school and grounds should be fenced in for safety reasons, but I think that some of the school field could have been left, beyond the fence boundary, for the local community to use.

Another example is Brierton field. There is no way that all that area is needed by the school. Mind you, the kids just climb over or dismantle the fence!

I reckon you just want to extend your garden:oP

i thought sport was compulsary?

Just like spelling! :oD

Was listening to Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 at lunchtime and they were discussing this topic.
Only one caller was for this motion and he was an ex-rugby league player!

Another caller amusingly suggested that the scrum be removed, then tackling removed, as it is dangerous, then remove running, because that causes ankle and knee injuries.
He suggested a walking game of rugby with literally the slightest of touches as a tackle. Now that would be a spectacle!! :oD

Our lass emailed me to tell me that it was on jeremy vine but i was out for a run and missed it.

At the end of the day it's just an opinion and one that will probably have very little impact at that.

True!
Running on a lunchtime, you must be keen!

the chippy shuts early you know:oD:oD

I quite often go for a run on a lunchtime - I'm trying to set an example.

What kind of run is it? Butty run? Chippy Run? Drugs Run?

CB,

I'm an athlete - I don't use Butties, Chips or Drugs.

Given the weather it was a very wet run.

Another thing I forgot to mention earlier was that in Scotland a couple of years ago they experimented with different rules for scrummaging, mainly to try and encourage less experienced players to play front row and recruit new players into the game.

I think it worked something like this:

All 2nd team games and below were played to the U19 variations scrummaging rules.

All 1st XV games below a certain level were also played to these rules.

Because you can only push 1.5m and wheel 45 degrees under those variations it brought back a little of the art of hooking which is something I do applaud and props and locks became a little more athletic but when Scottish teams at this level came up against those from other nations either touring sides or in cross-border games at 1st XV level they tended to struggle in the pack due to a greater experience of the opponents in full blooded scrummaging.

Another side effect was that because players were not getting experience of Senior rules scrummaging even after the age of 18 the gulf between playing 1st and 2nd team level was widened for many Scottish teams.

In some respects, I have sympathy for the doctor's comments. Safety is, or should be the first concern of a referee. Sadly, this isn't the case with a lot of coaches, particularly at Junior level. I'm apalled at the lack of coaching that goes into front row body positioning, binding and engagements. There is no doubt in my mind, that if this continues, the nanny state will have it's way. Like all other skills, if the basics are taught correctly, the finer points will follow. Maybe it's time that we had a good, long look at ourselves before bemoaning interference from outside.

I agree with chrisheref my nephew plays for one of the west junior sides (it took me ages to get over the grief and sense of loss) and the season before last he was put in at tight head (even though he normaly plays flanker/centre) without any sort of coaching which resulted with him getting a back injury and losing time of school and almost putting him off rugby for good.
It is something that coaches need to be drilling into players at a early age and also to make sure that the player wants to give it a go and not feel forced to play there for the good of the team.

That kid in the under 12's (now the U 13's) had a accident dident he *cough cough my brother cough cough* and he was out for the rest of the season.