Rugby & injuries

[Aled]

Interesting thread here all. My son is 11 and unless he has a massive turn around pretty quickly he will not be playing rugby (his choice took him to tag rugby he was not interested at all the same happened in football). My daughter may play though, we'll see.

I played a lot of amateur club rugby, from 19 until I was 37, at hooker (yep loved scrummaging) mostly, dabbled a bit as an openside,(too slow) anyway thoroughly enjoyed my rugby, got a lot out of it met some great people, made good friends, however....a snapped Achilles tendon and a dislocated shoulder both of which needed to be surgically repaired, was it worth it??? HELL YES! Back in 2003 when I went back to play after my Achilles injury which I thought had ended my career, it massively helped me through a very very difficult time of my life.

 

However things have changed, The amateur game is not quite as much fun as it was, and the big hits, and heavy weight lifting are filtering down to the amateur league. Should we be surprised that there are more injuries?

A lot of clubs no longer run 2nd XV's...which were great fun to play for. the old saying was "teams that win together sin together" so the post match beer was a great craic.

My brother played rugby professionally, ....his son plays football and does gymnastics, take from that what you will.

Cheers

Aled

Edited October 17, 2017 by Aled

[Esca]

Both of my sons use to play the eldest only gave up a coupple of years ago. The youngest gave up after he turned 16. The decion was/is up to them.

 

I think hoewever there is to much tendancy for people to point the finger at rugby as being sport that has long term effects on your health. As previously mentioned other sports can cause injury that will affect you later in life.

 

The point for me when I played (Loose Head) was the camaraderi and the fact that for a saturday afternoon you managed to escape the stress of the working week.

[Mice!]

Is everyone on here a former rugby union prop 🙄🙄

 

Think the worst rugby injurie I had was a broken nose, the guy at a&e said he really didn't like rugby, had a few fingers broken various strains and sprains, which means I was lucky.

 

Don't think it matters what sport you do there is always a chance of injuries, I don't remember there being injuries at school, probably once we got to 16s and under 18s when it started getting more serious.

[Aled]

 

When the battle scars have faded, and the truth becomes a lie

And the weekend smell of liniment could almost make you cry.

When the last ruck’s well behind you, and the man that ran now walks

It doesn’t matter who you are, the mirror sometimes talks.

Have a good hard look old son! The melons not that great

The snoz that takes a sharp turn sideways, used to be dead straight.

You’re an advert for arthritis, you’re a thoroughbred gone lame

Then you ask yourself the question, why the hell you played the game?

Was there logic in the head knocks? In the corks and in the cuts?

Did common sense get pushed aside? By manliness and guts?

Do you sometimes sit and wonder, why your time would often pass

In a tangled mess of bodies, with your head up someone’s ****?

With a thumb hooked up your nostril, scratching gently on your brain

And an overgrown Neanderthal, rejoicing in your pain!

Mate – you must recall the jersey, that was shredded into rags

Then the soothing sting of Dettol, on a back engraved with tags!

It’s almost worth admitting, though with some degree of shame

That your wife was right in asking, why the hell you played the game?

Why you’d always rock home legless, like a cow on roller skates

After drinking at the clubhouse, with your low down drunken mates.

Then you’d wake up – check your wallet, not a solitary coin

Drink Berocca by the bucket, throw an ice pack on your groin.

Copping Sunday morning sermons, about boozers being losers

While you limped like Quasimodo, with a half a thousand bruises!

Yes – an urge to hug the porcelain, and curse Sambuca’s name

Would always pose the question, why the hell you played the game!

And yet with every wound re-opened, as you grimly reminisce it

Comes the most compelling feeling yet, god, you bloody miss it!

From the first time that you laced a boot, and tightened every stud

That virus known as rugby, has been living in your blood.

When you dreamt it when you played it, all the rest took second fiddle

Now you’re standing on the sideline, but your heart’s still in the middle.

And no matter where you travel, you can take it as expected

There will always be a breed of people, hopelessly infected.

If there’s a teammate, then you’ll find him, like a gravitating force

With a common understanding, and a beer or three, of course.

And as you stand there telling lies, like it was yesterday old friend

You’ll know that if you had the chance, you’d do it all again.

You see – that’s the thing with rugby, it will always be the same

And that, I guarantee, is why the hell you played the game!

This sums it up quite well!!

[Scully]

Again, I can understand and respect Kyskas point of view.

When I played rugby for grammar school it was full on no holds barred, and now and then we played Newton Rigg college; a couple of them had beards. They may have thought they were taking it easy on us but it didnt feel like that to us.

There were many injuries.

We did unsupervised weight training also.

Skip to the 21st century and even though my son played rugby, he also studied JuJitsu, but the latter wasnt full on holds etc against joints because of his age at the time. It was like JuJitsu lite until he was fully developed

Ditto for his weight training; fully supervised as a minor with the emphasis on care of developing muscles and physiques.

[Esca]

This sums it up quite well!!

Outstanding there is nothing else to say

 

:good:

Edited October 17, 2017 by Esca

[kyska]

It was not a pop but a genuine question and not specific to Rugby - I remember a few years back a relative that is an orthopedic surgeon watching "joggers" go by and rubbing his hands saying there goes my pension fund. We hear a lot about the so called "obesity epidemic" costing so much but how much is the "fitness epidemic" costing? Personally I have shot knees and shoulders, partially from rugby/training and partially from work.

Apologies, my comments were generic, my quoting of your post wasn't inferring it was aimed at you.

[kyska]

I'm a moronic, arrogant father, clearly not the only one by the tone of your post. I know you are some sort of medical professional but this obsession with dictating what can and cannot be done while young, under the guise of safeguarding is insane. What about the good aspects of the sport; physical effort, teamwork, team spirit, honest competition. Do they count for nothing. Surely you dont want to see generation after generation of couch potatoes who live forever adding to the already creaking NHS ?

I'm unclear of your generalisation, I can only glean from this that you think my children sit doing nothing active?

 

There are plenty of sports that provide all of the above, i'm CERTAIN my kids are not losing out by not playing rugby, unless you can carefully persuade me otherwise I'll keep to my decision.

 

Regarding safeguarding, don't be so obtuse.

Edited October 17, 2017 by kyska

[Mice!]

Not wishing to take away from kyska's comments

 

I'm off doing the most dangerous aspect of rugby, tick and pass on an all weather!!!

 

I liked that aled very funny 😁

[Aled]

Glad you liked it

Cheers

Aled

[Alex C]

I've been coaching my lads team for the last 3 years. From Under 8's to now under 11's. We have a few knocks and bruises but so far have avoided any serious injuries. I've just finished giving them a good rollocking tonight as they were all half asleep, that's when injuries happen. Do it a bit half hearted and that's when you get hurt.

 

I started playing again a few years back and I have to be honest, it hurts. I'm playing at a decent local level with lads half my age, and I play in the front row !!

 

Love the game, love everything it gave to me. I now give back as much as I can.

[spanj]

I'm unclear of your generalisation, I can only glean from this that you think my children sit doing nothing active?

 

There are plenty of sports that provide all of the above, i'm CERTAIN my kids are not losing out by not playing rugby, unless you can carefully persuade me otherwise I'll keep to my decision.

 

Regarding safeguarding, don't be so obtuse.

I make no assumptions about your kids level of activity.

 

Obtuse, moi........ How ironic

Let me get this straight, when you say your a moronic arrogant father do you mean you have a go at someone and belittle he's children because he doesn't want them to get hurt playing a sport. Is it really insane for a father to safeguard he's children.

Think you may need to reread my post. I wasnt belittlling anybody and my pop at safeguarding was referring to the national obsession with it rather than a direct go at Kyska

Edited October 17, 2017 by spanj

[JimLondon]

And hence why my boys won't be playing rugby, might as well just kick wheat out of them in the garage then I don't need to stand in a wet field watching someone else do it.

Before you all start, I don't care.

I've already had the 'bit of a pussy are your lads then?' 'Makes them real men', 'ballet dancers then?' In the pub from moronic, arrogant fathers.

There is a safeguarding issue if young people, with developing bone structures and developing brains are getting concussions, broken limbs and ligament injuries that will haunt them for life

I make no assumptions about your kids level of activity.

 

Obtuse, moi........ How ironic

 

Think you may need to reread my post. I wasnt belittlling anybody and my pop at safeguarding was referring to the national obsession with it rather than a direct go at Kyska

My post was based on Kyskas post regarding the comments from moronic arrogant fathers in the pub, which you held your hand up and said you was a moronic arrogant father, the comments kyska received from them was in my eyes outrageous and indeed moronic and arrogant. I'm sure you'll agree

 

Jim

[Laird Lugton]

 

I am not sure what was in my post you quoted that cracks you up.

Perhaps I should add that we have two daughters, neither plays or played rugby, (but both can shoot and cast a line) and if we had a son I would have dissuaded him from playing rugby.

 

 

Sorry Cranfield, I wasn't very clear in my writing, I didn't mean your post cracks me up just that there is the realisation from those that have played rugby that their joints in later life are knackered because of rugby. Yet I stand on the sidelines with ex rugby players who have the same issue as you and yet are happy to let their offspring play the game.

Edited October 18, 2017 by Laird Lugton