East Metro Bulldogs Youth RFC

The Minnesota Rugby-Football Union
& the Minnesota Amateur Rugby
Foundation

present

Suggestions on Safe Rugby
by David Kirchoff, Coach, Redwood H.S.R.F.C.

COACHES, REFEREES, & CAPTAINS! The following suggestions are from David Kirchoff, coach of Redwood High School RFC. I've amended his comments slightly, they were written for youth rugby, but I believe they are pertinent to all rugby, particularly collegiate and second sides which may have players who have had little or no coaching... especially in the front row. Coaches, referees, club leaders, and anyone who cares about safe rugby... take note!

Rugby football is a wonderful game presenting opportunities for personal athletic expression, development of individual and team skill, and the character building and social camaraderie a competitive sport enjoys. Youth rugby in particular is catching on. Young American contact oriented athletes are unique - strong, courageous and resourceful. Born game players waiting to learn an exciting game. Young men and women like the physical contact, the opportunities and demands required by physical commitment. Rugby is a tough game made more attractive by the high skill levels required, qualities youthful Americans appreciate.

It is the purpose of this article to examine where injuries occur within a rugby game, determine how and why they occur and offer suggestions for their avoidance. Most rugby injuries are superficial - an occasional deep bruise or split skin requiring at the most stitches. More serious injuries occur too, mostly to the shoulder, ankle and knee joints, although my experience indicates most of these are re-injuries, originally from American football.

It is the potential for injuries, particularly involving inexperienced players, that concerns me the most. Injuries appear to come from two important facets of rugby play - improper tackling and improper scrummaging. It is interesting to note that the Laws of the Game outlaw these situations and actions during play causing most serious injuries. However, they have occasionally occurred despite the Laws.

TACKLING: Although relatively infrequent, serious injuries arising from improper tackling seem to result from the inappropriate adaption the spearing techniques sometimes learned playing American football, that is the head first tackle characterized by driving into the opponent head first with or without wrapping the arms. The smart rugby tackle involves bringing the opponent to the ground thus forcing him to release the ball.

The other danger in rugby tackling also comes from the tendency to tackle an opponent with the head in front rather than the rear. A knee striking the head or the ball carrier falling on the tackler may present the possibility of injury. [Editors note: The proper tackle should involve the arms wrapped around the ball carrier with the head behind the ball carrier. The Laws of the Game expressly forbid any type of dangerous tackling, such has high tackling or leaving the feet in a body block style, which can be injurious to both defender and ball carrier. These Laws MUST be (and most often are) enforced vigorously.]

SCRUMMAGING; The more frequent area of rugby play where serious injuries have been recorded derives from improper or inexperienced scrummaging. These injuries seem to come from three activities - barging when bringing the scrum together, lifting in the front row, and collapsing the scrum.

INJURY PREVENTION: All these situations can be coached thereby minimizing the risks. Tackling drills can be structured to teach proper head placement, proper wrapping of the arms, and the importance of tackling for possession in contrast with the more spectacular but less productive "stick" or "hit". Barging in the scrum can be dealt with by proper head positioning entering the scrum, spreading the force across the shoulders instead of taking it on the head or neck. Lifting can be minimized through proper hip, head and foot positioning, tight binding and front row teamwork. And scrum collapsing can be dealt with by teaching proper foot work, head and body positioning and correct collapsing techniques when all else fails and the scrum goes down. The point here is to practice proper collapsing by dropping the knees to the ground and bringing the heads of the front row players down together so the foreheads come straight down to the ground instead of trying to stay up there-by being driven back with the head and neck bent down toward the chest in an awkward, uncomfortable and potentially unsafe position.

One other point relative to coaching needs to be made about the front row scrummaging injuries - proper selection. There is tremendous physical force exerted in the scrum, primarily absorbed by the front row. Height can be a disadvantage up front - taller people often have difficulty dropping their hips so they can leverage their strength in leg, buttocks and back muscles up through their back and neck. Similarly, narrow thing necks often have less strength and flexibility. Accordingly, front row selection needs to bias toward the heavier, shorter, squatter physiques with strong thick necks. It is important to note, however, that no matter how well selected the front row players are, proper front row techniques - head, foot positioning, tight binding, and lower hips than shoulders with flat backs - must be taught and practiced, including how to take the scrum down if necessary.

Now all this may sound fine - we can talk all day about coaching and selection as cornerstones toward prevention of serious injuries. However, the real world of rapidly expanding rugby and enthusiastic young players often finds inexperienced players playing scrimmages or games before the learning of proper techniques and experience have provided a base to prevent engaging in the situations where potential injury may occur. So this brings up the final component of safe rugby - refereeing.

REFEREEING: In my mind youth rugby refereeing may be more difficult than mediating more experienced players. Unfortunately, when a ref is assigned to a youth match, there is no guarantee that the respective scrums know what they are doing, be that from inadequate experience or training. Moreover , there may be a large imbalance between teams regarding strength, technique and/or experience. If we are to enjoy play safe from dangerous situations, it becomes incumbent on the ref to learn how to mitigate these imbalances in the name of safety and adjust the game so that it can be played for fun without encountering the dangers discussed earlier. So what are these rules for refs when finding themselves with inexperienced players in the front row?

RULE #1: Before the match, the first thing the ref needs to do is talk to the respective coaches to determine the experience level of the players, especially the scrums. With these perceptions noted, he can begin to plan for any necessary adjustments, if he feels necessary.

RULE #2: When the first scrummage comes together, the ref needs to require the scrum to hold the mark (which in its own right can be a good indicator of the players ability to control the scrum). Then, while the scrummage is held steady, the ref should circle the scrum and check for proper binding - specifically, that the tight head is not wrenching down on his opposing loose head, that the loose head is firmly and squarely packed in, head under his opposite tight head's chest instead of his arm pit and with his free arm bound on to the tight head or braced on his knee for additional support in holding the front row up. Also, quickly check the wing forward binding - it always amazes me how many young, enthusiastic wing forwards bind their outside arm on the knee, calf or thigh of their prop, in effect tripping them, thereby encouraging the scrum to collapse. Further, check to make sure the second row's shoulders are engaged with their prop's buttocks instead of their kidneys and that the second row's hips are lower than their shoulders. Finally, the ref should peek into the tunnel to see that the second row have their chins pulled through, a simple move for all scrummaging forwards that makes sure they can see where the ball is and more importantly, straightens the backs.

With these checks completed, the ref can allow the first scrum to proceed. Aside from helping to establish good scrummaging technique, this little tour will do one other thing for the ref - it will let youthful enthusiasts know who is in charge for the course of the game.

RULE #3: The quick whistle. In youth rugby, an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. The game won't be expanding very far if prevention doesn't do its job. What this means is that if at anytime the scrum appears dangerous - whether that be barging, the tight head dropping his opposing loose head, head butting, the hooker slipping his binds to put downward pressure on his opponent, or the scrum is beginning to go down - blow the whistle and warn or penalize the offenders or at least sort things out. In England under 19 play, the refs are instructed to blow the whistle anytime they see the front row shoulders drop lower than their hips, an indication that things are moving toward the edge. When a ref sees this happen, he should blow the whistle sharply and straighten it out.  Who cares what the score is if a young enthusiast ends up with an injury?

RULE #4: Of confronted with two really inexperienced or imbalanced scrums, stack them in by bringing the front row together first, then the seconds, and finally the back row. Bringing the front row together first relieves much of the pressure, allows better binding, and creates a steady platform before adding all the pressure from the other five scrummagers. This technique often sorts out particularly aggressive or inexperienced scrums, in effect teaching them proper binding and scrummaging while playing the game.

RULE #5: If all else fails, the ref should prohibit any pushing in the scrum. Bring the scrum together, have it hold the mark during the put-in and strike, including channeling the ball out. Although not very elegant, it does work in the sense that it is impossible for the scrum to collapse if there is no push. I first saw this technique used in the highly competitive Greater Public Schools league in Sydney, Australia where a serious front row accident precipitated a response from the parents of the boys in the league prohibiting any push in the scrum.

RULE #6: Do not play the advantage if it looks dangerous. Mostly this refers to late tackling, but it also refers to offside infractions, particularly within the 10 yard zone when players are offside in front of the kick and are preparing to munch the player receiving the kick.

RULE #7: Lastly, the referee should aggressively penalize any sort of dangerous tackling, be that high tackling, spearing, tackling without wrapping or late.

SUMMARY: There are two areas where serious injuries can take the fun out of rugby. These are: (1) improper tackling techniques, and (2) improper scrummaging. In both these areas proper coaching, drills, techniques and experience can provide the skills necessary to avoid the risk of serious injury. Where, however, this inexperience and skill level is not present, a case more often than not in rapidly expanding youth rugby involving large numbers of inexperienced young players, the referee should make certain adjustments to play that can effectively minimize the risk of serious injuries. These are:

(1) talk to coaches before the game
(2) hold the first scrum steady and check for fundamentals
(3) the quick whistle
(4) stacking can give the scrum added structure
(5) as a last resort, prohibit pushing
(6) do not play the advantage if dangerous
(7) penalize dangerous tackling

Rugby is a GREAT game... let's keep it a safe one, too.

adapted by Rob Wagner for Minnesota Youth Rugby and the Minnesota Amateur Rugby Foundation

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