Rugby College: Rugby"s concussion tests are "laughable", claims England star Alex Corbisiero

By

Sam Peters

PUBLISHED:

22:21, 8 March 2014

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UPDATED:

00:28, 9 March 2014

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England and Lions rugby star Alex Corbisiero has labelled the game’s

concussion protocols ‘laughable’ and demanded guaranteed rest periods

and a reduction in full-contact training in a bid to limit the risk of

players developing brain damage.

While leading Labour MP Chris

Bryant called for a Parliamentary inquiry into concussion in sport,

Corbisiero became the first current international to voice serious

concerns over the way rugby treats concussion.

Serving

players, fearful of upsetting their paymasters, have so far been

reluctant to speak out. But Corbisiero, ruled out of the Six Nations

championship by a serious knee injury, criticised rugby’s concussion

policies at a film premiere in central London.

Scroll down to watch video clip of Head Games documentary

Running the risk: Alex Corbisiero voices his concern over the way rugby treats concussion

The film, Head Games, directed by acclaimed US documentary maker Steve James, highlights the decades of denial in American Football which led to the NFL being ordered to pay out $765million (Â£460m) to former players whoÂ suffered serious mental healthÂ problems linked to concussion.

It also covers the case of rugby league player Barry Taylor, who died after suffering Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative neurological disease associated with repeated concussions.

Addressing a panel of renowned neurological experts, Corbisiero made an impassioned plea for more to be done to improve standards in a sport that has seen a dramatic increase in the size and power of players since the onset of professionalism in 1995.

Corbisiero, 25 and a keen American Football fan, said: ‘As a player, you feel like you have very little say or control over how you can actually change the game. In rugby, we play 30-plus games a year. We do contact all through the week in training and then take minimal time off in the summer before we are back into contact training and the season.

Concern: Corbisiero made an impassioned plea for more to be done to improve standards

Too tough at the top: Sportsmail reported the dangers of rugby

Too tough at the top: Sportsmail reported the dangers of rugby’s obsession

‘Our concussion protocols can be laughable at times. Cogsport [the

computerised test used to assess an injured player"s fitness to resume

rugby] is the last hurdle people need to go through, but you can pass

that concussed or not concussed. I don’t think it’s an acceptable

guideline.

‘I don’t think there is a single rugby player who hasn’t had concussion or a sub-concussive blow.’

Corbisiero’s

stand led to sustained applause at Tuesday’s film premiere. Afterwards

Bryant, the Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform, called for a

Parliamentary inquiry into the way sport deals with concussion.

Watch the Head Games film at
https://rent.headgamesthefilm.com

Earlier

that day, Bryant chaired a meeting, alongside Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson,

at Parliament to discuss the issue. The gathering was attended by

senior medics from governing bodies, including the Rugby Football Union

and the Football Association.

In 2009, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell

was ordered before Congress to answer questions about American

Football’s approach to concussion. It was a defining moment for the

sport. Bryant, the MP for Rhondda in South Wales and a fervent rugby

fan, believes similar questions must be asked here.

‘I represent a

Welsh seat and in my constituency every young lad plays rugby,’ said

Bryant. ‘For many of them it’s the only way out of very deprived

backgrounds, becoming a star. In those kinds of communities it’s so

important to get education down to that level.

Video: Head Games Documentary Film Trailer 2012

Worry: Former England captain Lewis Moody has have called for stricter policing of head injuries

‘We’re going to get a

cross-party group to produce a report. But I’d much prefer to see a

formal inquiry by Parliament done along the lines of the congressional

hearing in the States because that’s when you get all the evidence

rolled out.’

Several retired players, including former England

captain Lewis Moody and ex-Scotland international Rory Lamont, have

called for greater concussion education and stricter policing of head

injuries across the game.Â

The Rugby Players’ Association (RPA) want

strict limits on the amount of contact sessions players undertake

between matches in order to lessen their exposureÂ to concussion. They

also wantÂ guaranteed rest periods for players between seasons. But

those moves are being resisted, with one source saying: ‘Clubs are

reluctant to be told what to do.’

With figures released last week to

The Mail on Sunday – disputed by both the RFU and Premier Rugby –

showing an 80Â per cent increase in injury-enforced retirements, it is

increasingly clear that more needs to be done to protect players in a

sport described by RPA chief executive Damian Hopley as ‘beautifully

brutal’.

‘It’s really important to speak to people at the coalface

who are experiencing these injuries day in, day out,’ said Dr Willie

Stewart, one of the world’s leading experts inÂ neuropathology, who is

advising the International Rugby Board on their concussion protocols.Â

‘One

thing that is coming through is the issue of contact training. Is that

really necessary day in, day out, when the game is on at the weekend?’

Last

week, Gloucester fly-half Tim Taylor, 30, became the 20th professional

player this season in England to retire injured, while another player,

who cannot be named for legal reasons, was released under a

controversial rule permitting clubs to dissolve contracts if a player is

injured for more than 26 weeks in any 52-week period.