Call to ban tackling in school rugby games

Tackling should be banned in school rugby games due to the risk of "serious injury" among under-18s, a group of more than 70 doctors and health experts have warned.

Academics, doctors, and public health professionals are among those to have signed the letter, and said studies show children were being made vulnerable to "serious and catastrophic risk of injury".

They argue two-thirds of injuries in youth rugby and most concussions are down to tackles and urge schools to move to touch and non-contact rugby.

Supporters say rugby builds character and other forms are less challenging.

The concerns have been raised as a seven-year programme headed by the Rugby Football Union is on target to introduce rugby to a million children in state schools across England.

In their letter to ministers, chief medical officers and children's commissioners in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, doctors say the risks for players aged under 18 are high.

They say many secondary schools in the UK deliver contact rugby as a compulsory part of the physical education curriculum from the age of 11.

"The majority of all injuries occur during contact or collision, such as the tackle and the scrum," the letter says.

"These injuries, which include fractures, ligamentous tears, dislocated shoulders, spinal injuries and head injuries can have short-term, lifelong and life-ending consequences for children."