The furore over Courtney Lawes' tackle
Rugby is a great sport, let's not let freak accidents ruin peoples perception of the game.
I was utterly aghast, having been directed to an array of comments regarding Counrtney Lawes' tackle last week. To highlight a freak incident as a reason that parents wouldn't want their kids to play rugby is an overreaction in the extreme.
Courtney Lawes' tackle was legal, not just because Nigel Owens and the video referee said so, but because it absolutely fell within the laws of the game. I am sure there are plenty of other examples of players being tackled from behind, without quite looking as ferociuos on the slow motion, but if Jules Plissons had been turned a little more either way, I don't think we would have talked so endlessly about it. This only goes to highlight the freak nature of the tackle (similar in many respects to James Lowe's tackle on Malakai Fekitoa, which was executed correctly and within the laws of the game, but ended with a freak accident and an (incorrect) yellow card), but fair play to Mr Plissons, he got up, and got on with it.
Rugby is undoubtably a ferocious game, and indeed if many of the events that take place on the field were to happen off it, you might find yourself in trouble, but isn't that what sport is for? You are allowed to put yourself in a position that tests your mental and physical capabilities along with others that want to do the same. This makes it no different to Boxing, American Football, and indeed a great many other sports, so why the need to lambast rugby in particular?
My mother never had any sympathy for me after I had played. 'You will play these rough sports,' she would say. She is right of course, but more than that, rugby for me brings people together a lot more, you become a far better unit because of the physical sacrifices you have to make suring a game.
That said, rugby is not all about the physicality - and indeed you don't have to be physical to play rugby. One of my uncles played fly-half as I was growing up, and was famous for invariably coming off the field completely clean. He was also famous for his 'allotment runs', slicing through the opposition and putting someone else free, as well as his overall control of the game, and yet, he didn't tackle (I never saw it anyway!).
So to any parent who feels that adverse comments about rugby might lead to them discouraging their children to play the game, please rest assured that incidents like this are not commonplace, they are freak events that rarely happen. Yes, you will get hurt playing rugby, but I never broke a bone, and aside from a few pulled muscles, I remained unscathed despite playing in the second and back row throughout my rugby career. I prided myself on my tackling and I didn't get hurt (I got knocked about a bit sometimes - I might be 6' 5'' but there are still bigger men than me on the field!).
Rugby instills values in individuals, respect, teamwork, standing side by side, taking a knock, but getting up and getting on with it (concussion aside - the game as a whole is focussing on this as a priority issue). You don't see the same petulance in rugby that you do in football - who are the better role models? The quality of character that can be instilled in a child playing rugby is immense, it can teach them much more about themselves than many other endeavours at an early age, and I for one am extremely grateful that I had rugby in my life.
Filed under:
Spirit Of The Game
Written by: Edward Kerr
Follow: @edwardrkerr · @therugbymag
