The retirement of rugby union hookers Steve Thompson and Brendan Cannon on medical advice has highlighted the ongoing safety concern over front-row forwards.
But the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), is confident that new scrummaging laws will go some way to curtailing chronic neck injuries.
Thompson, 28, and Cannon, 34, faced each other in the 2003 World Cup final that Australia lost 20-17 to England and the latter's retirement now means that all the Australian front-row from their semi-final win against New Zealand have left the game with neck or spinal injuries.
Ben Darwin suffered a prolapsed disc after he lost feeling in his neck in a collapsed scrum, while Bill Young suffered chronic neck injuries with numbness in his left arm and hand which still returns on occasion.
Greg Thomas, head of communications for the IRB, said the new rules concerning scrummaging had been implemented in a bid to cut down on injuries.
"Rugby is a very physical game: there is a risk of injury in every aspect of the game and the scrum is obviously one area," Thomas said.
The new scrum regulations had been introduced, Thomas said, "as purely a safety issue."
"The front rows have been brought closer together to minimize impact. Our research showed that the `hit' was starting to cause long-term injuries and possible chronic injuries," he added.
Thomas argued that the number of reset scrums had not increased and "in some competitions it has gone down dramatically ... we are continuing to monitor the situation."
The new scrum laws employ a "crouch, touch, pause, engage" philosophy which sees the two opposing front rows standing closer to each other and the props within touching distance.
They are designed to lessen the full-frontal impact, with the goal of fewer collapsed scrums and resets but the truth remains that you still have up to 2,000kg worth of packs smashing into each other.
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the