Ban tackling in school rugby games to prevent serious injury, doctors urge

Watch ITV News Sport Correspondent Ian Payne's report above.

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.

In an open letter to ministers, medical officers and children's commissioners, doctors describe rugby as a "high-impact collision sport" and urged schools to switch to touch rugby and non-contact rugby.

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".

"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, life-long, and life-ending consequences for children."

Concussion is a common injury, it adds, while injuries can "result in significant time loss from school".

Prof Allyson Pollock, of the Queen Mary University of London, was among those to sign the letter.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) said schools were already able to choose between playing rugby as a contact or a non-contact sport, while "building blocks" to gradually introduce contact had been provided.

Rugby stars past and present have been giving their views on the proposal.