Wales assistant coach Rob Howley, Wales and Lions centre Jamie Roberts and WRU Head of Rugby Josh Lewsey joined WRU National Medical Manager Prav Mathema and representatives of the grassroots game to raise the profile of the campaign launch, held at Pontyclun Rugby Club.
Minister for Education and Skills, Huw Lewis said: “We love sport here in Wales but it’s important to be aware of the potential risks involved and how to manage these to keep players safe. I would urge anyone involved in arranging sports; school staff, referees and coaches, as well as parents and young people themselves, to read this guidance and share it widely.
“We’ll shortly be issuing our own guidance on recognising and dealing with concussion which applies to any sport or recreational activity undertaken in school and for community sport up to age 19. This will complement the WRU guidance and highlights our common commitment to tackle this important issue, and I thank them for their knowledge and support in bringing our guidance to fruition and in helping to raise the profile of this serious matter”.
Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates added: “Taking part in sport is excellent for the health and wellbeing of people of all ages but, unfortunately, it brings with it the risk of injury. Whilst we can never remove that risk, we can ensure it is minimised as far as possible and this guidance document will help this in relation to concussion. Concussion is a serious injury and should always be treated as such so I urge all those involved in rugby to read it and to keep it to hand during training and matches.
“I thank the WRU for its commitment to tackling the issue.”
Prav Mathema, supported by the WRU Medical Advisory Committee has produced a Concussion Guidance document, which will be sent to all senior and junior sections of clubs in Wales, representative groups and affiliated bodies. This guidance will be sent along with a range of other, easy to read versions and promotional material, such as posters and pocket sized z cards. The full resource is also be available online on a new section of the WRU website (wru.co.uk/medical).
The document, entitled Concussion, Recognise and Remove, outlines the signs, symptoms and some of the myths of concussion and encourages all involved in the game to adopt a zero tolerance attitude when it comes to incidences of suspected concussion.
The literature is clear and easy to read, and should enable anyone involved in rugby – parents, players, coaches, referees and volunteers – to recognise symptoms of suspected concussion and act accordingly.
Once any symptoms of concussion have been recognised in a player of any age or level of the game, the key message of the campaign is to permanently remove the player from the training session or match and refer them to a medical practitioner.
Mathema, said: “This guidance represents a big step forward in supporting everyone involved with the game in Wales to identify and manage concussion symptoms.
“We want as many people as possible in every club to be aware of the guidance and advice so that it becomes a truly effective means of dealing with concussion.
“The guidance helps recognise concussion symptoms – and strongly advises referring any players suspected of suffering concussion to a medical practitioner before following a clear, graduated return to play programme.
Wales international centre Jamie Roberts offered his services as an ambassador of the new policy to encourage rugby clubs to fully engage with the new guidance immediately.
He said: “At the professional level we have excellent medical care, both on matchdays and during training periods. Rigorous, baseline testing is in force to ensure we don’t return to play before we are fully ready so it is vital we do as much as possible to ensure amateur players are also protected.
“The WRU guidance is easy to follow so players, referees, coaches and volunteers on the touchlines could all have a role to play in recognising symptoms and taking the appropriate action.
“We all know the positives of playing rugby from a health perspective and through the values it fosters and represents, so this guidance will no doubt prove to be a great tool in encouraging greater participation.”
Wales assistance coach Rob Howley added, “We know that the coach has a vital role to play in creating the culture of teams and clubs and I would appeal to all coaches at every level of the game in Wales to take this guidance very seriously when dealing with the matchday management of games.
