World Rugby must review rules on tackling, says public health expert

A campaigner for the game of rugby to be made safer has said that it is vital for the sport’s governing body to review rules on the tackle to reduce the risk of injury.

Allyson Pollock, professor of public health research and policy at Queen Mary University of London, said that the government should act to make rugby in schools a non-contact sport.

She was responding to reports ahead of a BBC Panorama programme, aired on 21 September, in which Martin Raftery, World Rugby’s chief medical officer, said that the tackle would be a focus of discussions about how to make the game safer for athletes.

Data in the Rugby Football Union’s annual report, published in February, showed 86 reported concussions from matches during the 2013-14 season, up from 54 in …