Is rugby winning the war on head injuries after concussions marred the Wallabies-Lions series?

The third Test between the Wallabies and Lions was a bizarre match in many ways. Played in a torrential downpour, it was suspended for 40 minutes barely two minutes into the second half because of nearby lightning strikes.

And more worryingly, four players suffered concussions, through a combination of malice and bad luck as Australia won 22-12.

Wallaby flyhalf Tom Lynagh’s night ended when Lions hooker Dan Sheehan recklessly made contact with the pivot’s head when clearing a ruck.

Sheehan escaped punishment on the field but was later cited and suspended for four matches for his act of malice/recklessness, depending on your view.

Lions lock James Ryan’s night also ended early when he put his head in the wrong position and took the full brunt of opposite number Will Skelton’s knee to the head. This was purely accidental.

And Lions captain Maro Itoje and wing Tommy Freeman also failed head injury assessments after heavy collisions that would fall under the heading “rugby incidents”.

Putting aside other injuries such as ligament and soft tissue tears and general bruising, it did remind people that rugby is a violent game.

Some might guffaw at the concept of “player safety” in a sport where highly conditioned, big men (in this case) usually collide at high speed. It does seem like a physiological oxymoron.

And the spate of concussions, allied to the controversial clear-out by Lions flank Jac Morgan on Wallaby flank Carlo Tizzano in the final minute of the second Test, has raised the issue again.

Winning the war?

Simply put: Is rugby winning the war on concussions?

The answer is not straightforward or definitive because studies and new initiatives such as the ball carrier being mandated to change habits are still ongoing, and the laws are still too opaque.

Take the Tizzano/Morgan incident. Many experts saw it as a legitimate clear-out and others viewed it as foul play. Tizzano didn’t help his case by theatrically falling backwards, and it appeared that he was not subsequently subjected to a head injury assessment. He should have been if he was genuinely clattered in the head.

But it was a snapshot of the difficulties in some instances for the officials. It was the type of clear-out that might go unnoticed in the early part of the game if the “cleared” player does not try to milk it.

The ruck is a contentious area of the game, although strangely it is not the part of the game where most head injuries occur, despite players putting their necks and heads in vulnerable positions.

The tackle remains the most likely place for a head injury to occur. Last Saturday Ryan was attempting to tackle and basically ran into a knee.

Studies have repeatedly shown that the tackle accounts for the largest proportion of concussions, with some research citing figures as high as 74% to 77% of all concussions.

According to the linked study above, which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine: “Concussion has a match incidence rate of 17.9 per 1,000 hours in elite men’s rugby union.

“It represents 20% of all match injuries. More than 50% of concussions occur in the tackle, partly because it is a dynamic and physical event, and partly because tackles are frequent game events.”
In 2023, a South Africa Rugby Union (Saru) Tackle-Height Player Safety Task Team looked at 611 incidents that required a head injury assessment and found that in 335 of the incidents it was the tackler who was injured

A further 129 head injury assessments were required for the tackled players, while ruck head injury assessments were a distant third with 73. It’s clear that the tackle situation is rugby’s most dangerous event.

Trial laws

With the tackle dynamic in mind, the South African Rugby Union (Saru) and others such as the Irish Rugby Football Union (Irfu) implemented new laws several years ago at an amateur and schoolboy level.

England also entered the amateur trials, while France has been trialling the lowering of tackle heights since 2019.

The law places a significant burden on the ball carrier to be safer while also emphasising that the safest zone to target in the tackle is between the ball carriers’ hips and sternum.

That is called the green zone, while anything above the sternum is the red zone and an instant penalty.

If the tackle is below the waist — in the amber zone — the risk of head injury is lower than when high, although there is still a risk of injury and concussion caused by hip, leg and knee impact. If the defender tackles between the ball-carrier’s sternum and hip, which would include the waist — in the green zone — the head is in the safest position and injury risk is lowest.

The updated laws for amateur rugby relate to the lowering of the maximum legal tackle height, while also outlawing potentially dangerous ball-carrying actions and techniques such as leading with forearms or jumping into tackles.

One of the most eye-catching tweaks to the law in Saru’s trials was that it placed a duty on the ball carrier to be “safer”. At the professional level, almost all the responsibility for player safety lies with the tackler.

Under Saru’s guidelines, there is a heavy emphasis on the ball carrier to retain an upright position, providing the tackler with a target in the prescribed “safe zone” when tackling.

Positive findings

Having been through two schoolboy seasons since the law was introduced, a full Saru report has yet to be published.

Irfu, though, has issued a preliminary report, and the findings are positive.

“Due to the volume of data collected during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 trial seasons, analysis is still under way, using comprehensive injury surveillance, video analysis and stakeholder feedback,” Irfu said in a statement.

Colm Finnegan, Irfu’s National Rugby Development Manager, added: “We feel the evidence provided by the data shows a clear benefit to having a lower tackle height, and that is why we are committing to law that the legal tackle height in Ireland is below the baseline of the sternum.

“We look forward to presenting the findings in the coming weeks, along with plans and support for coaches and players who look to continue developing their tackle skills.”

One other positive outcome of increased awareness is that players are taking a greater care of duty as well.

Lions centre Garry Ringrose suffered a head injury in training before the second Test, and although he passed an initial head injury assessment, he felt unwell at the team’s final practice before the Test.

Instead of playing through the symptoms, he ruled himself out of the match, admitting to a return of concussion symptoms, therefore taking responsibility for his own welfare. DM