Nathan Hughes ban shows the danger of ignoring intent in a physical sport

Response to the incident that left George North unconscious shows rugby’s rule-makers need to understand the difference between an accident and a crime

• Northampton’s George North to miss Clermont after latest concussion

Rugby has always been a hazardous sport. No one who plays it, at any level, steps onto the field without at least a pulse of fear throbbing somewhere in their circuitry. There’s fear of making a fool of yourself, fear of letting down your team-mates, and, perhaps the most primeval of them all, fear of the battle that awaits, of the collisions and pain – fear, in short, of injury. Will this game be the one? Wrestling with that notion is what renders the sport so elemental, so compelling to play, so compelling to watch.

But there’s a new fear sweeping through rugby – at the highest levels, anyway. Fear of putting a foot wrong. Fear of health and safety. Fear of the accidental. And this is not what the sport was ever supposed to be about.

Continue reading...





from Sport | The Guardian http://ift.tt/19KMqJN

Browse More Articles

Tweet

Written by Unknown

We are Creative Blogger Theme Wavers which provides user friendly, effective and easy to use themes. Each support has free and providing HD support screen casting.