Ryan Jones Dementia

[Whisperer]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/61200369

This is quite sad as well - Steve Thompson England Hooker can't remember winning the world cup.

[life on mars]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

Gosh that is very sad news for such a young man with his life ahead of him , great player and captain ..

Will be very tough on his family..

Puts my worries and irrations into perspective.

[Lither_1927]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

Ryan Jones has announced he's joining a lawsuit that is sueing the rugby governing body for negligence. Not sure what the governing body can do to prevent this.
Ryan Jones says he can't remember the rules of rugby anymore. Must be terrible.

[Whisperer]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

Ryan Jones has announced he's joining a lawsuit that is sueing the rugby governing body for negligence. Not sure what the governing body can do to prevent this.
Ryan Jones says he can't remember the rules of rugby anymore. Must be terrible.

With Jeff Astle dying in 2002 from dementia, prolonged knocks to the head were certainly known to be a factor, so the governing body can be held to account IMHO.

[The Bloop]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

With Jeff Astle dying in 2002 from dementia, prolonged knocks to the head were certainly known to be a factor, so the governing body can be held to account IMHO.

Isn't the counter argument though that as knowledge of the effects of repeated head impacts was widely known, then players were aware of the risks. Why did players, including Ryan Jones, wear headguards if they didn't think there was a risk?
I think the most realistic outcome of the lawsuit is that changes to the game will be made and not some financial recompense for the players involved.

[Hilts]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

Isn't the counter argument though that as knowledge of the effects of repeated head impacts was widely known, then players were aware of the risks. Why did players, including Ryan Jones, wear headguards if they didn't think there was a risk?
I think the most realistic outcome of the lawsuit is that changes to the game will be made and not some financial recompense for the players involved.

The headgear isnt to prevent injuries like concussion though its for protection for soft tissue damage , cuts , damage to ears.

I still think they are doing far too little. I watched all 3 Wales/ S Africa games. Lads far bigger than what their natural size should be literally smashing into each other repeatedly. Big hit after big hit. Little skill just sheer brute force.

[chrisp_1927]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

I think the focus on the actual matches is looking at the wrong area. It's window dressing to make it appear like something is being done. It''s the repeated knocks that caused the issue. No/very low contact training is the only remedy I can see working. That's probably where a large percentage of the knocks are occurring. Same as heading in football, ban it in training but keep it in matches

[the other bob wilson]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

Would the ferocity of tackling we see in matches be fully replicated in training though?I don’t know the answer to that question, but I would have thought it would be limited to things like tackle bags, so the question would be do they involve multiple head collisions?

[The Bloop]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

The headgear isnt to prevent injuries like concussion though its for protection for soft tissue damage , cuts , damage to ears.

I still think they are doing far too little. I watched all 3 Wales/ S Africa games. Lads far bigger than what their natural size should be literally smashing into each other repeatedly. Big hit after big hit. Little skill just sheer brute force.

The game doesn't do enough, I agree. The risks are now widely known yet players still don't hold back. Why do the authorities wait for an apparent head injury before taking action? Even then they don't take the correct action. Players should also be assessed more often not just during games.

[WJ99mobile]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

We choose to play the game we know the problems what can happen !! Problems happen even if you don’t play sport

— Andy Powell (@andypowell8) July 17, 2022

Andy Powell stirring the pot

[chrisp_1927]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

Would the ferocity of tackling we see in matches be fully replicated in training though?I don’t know the answer to that question, but I would have thought it would be limited to things like tackle bags, so the question would be do they involve multiple head collisions?

Admittedly I haven't read much of the latest research that's come out. But the stuff coming out about 18 months ago seemed to suggest that it was the accumulation of loads and loads of sub concussions that did as much or more damage than the less regular proper concussions/knockouts.

I think we need to see a lot less games being played aswell. As you mentioned the other day, seasons are now essentially 11 months long. Not good in a collision based game.

[Majorblue]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

Would the ferocity of tackling we see in matches be fully replicated in training though?I don’t know the answer to that question, but I would have thought it would be limited to things like tackle bags, so the question would be do they involve multiple head collisions?

Probably differs from club to club.

I do some limited junior coaching and the youngsters only play tag rugby up to U14.

In training over that age then tackle technique is emphasised and physical contact is kept to a minimum with tackle bags mostly used.

My understanding is that the senior teams also now restrict full contact training with moves being walked through with absolute minimum contact.

Obviously this is one club, in Surrey but I do think this is much more prevalent as a way of training throughout the game.

Obviously some way to go as there was a case with the England U19’s ( I think) where the team doctor appeared to have ignored the official advice.

That type of attitude may still be relevant, especially in the older generation, as witnessed by the comments referred to above attributed to a certain hooker.

[qccfc]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

Probably differs from club to club.

I do some limited junior coaching and the youngsters only play tag rugby up to U14.

In training over that age then tackle technique is emphasised and physical contact is kept to a minimum with tackle bags mostly used.

My understanding is that the senior teams also now restrict full contact training with moves being walked through with absolute minimum contact.

Obviously this is one club, in Surrey but I do think this is much more prevalent as a way of training throughout the game.

Obviously some way to go as there was a case with the England U19’s ( I think) where the team doctor appeared to have ignored the official advice.

That type of attitude may still be relevant, especially in the older generation, as witnessed by the comments referred to above attributed to a certain hooker.

Its different in Wales where tag is only played for U7s and U8s. The first year of contact it U9s.

[North Cardiff Blue]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

No, I'm pretty sure you're right.

This is shocking news. Ryan Jones came over as bright, likeable and a natural leader.

One of the things which put me off rugby after it went fully professional was when, around twenty years ago, I began to notice commentators and pundits almost getting more excited about "big hits" than they would do about tries being scored.

Rugby used to be a sport where you looked to avoid contact and it was a game played to a very high standard by, skilful, smaller men, but with human beings getting bigger because of natural progression, a move towards much bigger backs and the switch to a more power based game where contact is encouraged, it's a different game to what it was and so there are no precedents from the game decades ago about the extent to which we can expect modern day players and those not retired that long ago to not suffer the fate of Ryan Jones and a few others.

Look at all of the modern day players with concussion issues. Rugby is more aware of its inherent dangers than it once was, but it still has an awful long way to go - my best wishes to Ryan Jones and his family, sadly I don't think he'll be the last prominent rugby player from the fairly recent past to receive such devastating news so early in his life.

American football has all the padding and helmets for a reason.

[chrisp_1927]

Re: Ryan Jones Dementia

American football has all the padding and helmets for a reason.

They still have a massive problem with early dementia for players mind. Seems like that head shaking is a hard movement to be able to dampen/protect against through padding.