BOXING has always been considered the most dangerous sport because of the
possibility of brain damage.
Yet after watching the British Lions tour of Australia. I’d say rugby union
must now be the most hazardous.
As a boxing writer I was appalled at some of the horrifying incidents I saw.
Players on both sides were being knocked unconscious which inevitably leads to
a concussion — mild or severe.
For me the worst came in the final Test when the Aussies’ heroic flanker
George Smith was flattened. He lay on the turf looking as if he had been
poleaxed by a Mike Tyson left hook.
Smith was helped to the touchline and I doubt if he knew whehter he was in
Sydney or 12,000 miles away at Twickenham.
Instead of being taken straight to the dressing room to recover from his
trauma he was back crashing into the Lions’ 18st forwards 10 minutes later.
The British Boxing Board of Control have stringent safety measures — based on
years of research and advice from neurological surgeons — to lessen the
effects of being bludgeoned.
If any boxer is stopped inside the distance, he is not allowed to return to
the ring for 28 days.
If it is a KO he cannot lace on the gloves again for 45 days.
It therefore begs the question. Is it safer to become a rugby star or a boxing
champion?
There was no better man to answer that than former world super-middleweight
champion Steve Collins and one of the toughest nuts ever to climb through
the ropes.
Collins’ son Steve Jnr is a hooker who has played for Wasps and London Irish
and has his second cruiserweight pro fight at Wembley Arena tomorrow.
So I put it to Collins: “Do you feel happier when young Steve is playing rugby
or when he’s boxing?â€
The Celtic Warrior told me: “There’s no doubt in my mind that if Steve gets
knocked out he will be looked after much better medically by the boxing
authorities than the rugby boys.
“I love both sports. You have to be particularly tough to be involved in
either one of them.
“But I was also disturbed by what I saw on the Lions tour.
“Some of those guys weren’t just slightly dazed. They were knocked cold. But
that didn’t seem to bother anyone, least of all the medics. If that keeps
happening the players could have serious repercussions later in life.â€
What I also find alarming is research by the University of North Carolina who
found 48 per cent of concussed rugby players play again in a week and 42 per
cent do not even leave the field.
Thankfully the Boxing Board have virtually eradicated punch-drunkenness as a
result of their safety measures.
Unless the rugby authorities take similar action then I believe some of their
biggest names will suffer.
Article source: http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/lions-tour/george-hook-bravest-man-irish-rugby-has-seen-should-retire-with-immediate-effect-29394432.html
Step aside boxing – rugby union is now the world"s most dangerous sport
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