Alarming statistics have been revealed in relation to catastrophic injuries from rugby in the first six months of this year.
So far this year, there have been cases of catastrophic injuries to six rugby players - four are secondary school students.
They are aged between 14 to 19 years with the youngest injured player aged 14 - while two players are from club level competition.
They have suffered serious spinal or head injuries.
There have also been two deaths at club rugby level this year.
One was in Lautoka while the other was in Labasa.
The cause of these two deaths are not known.
Fiji Rugby Union's Chairperson of Sports Science and Sports Medicine Commission, Cathy Wong said that with the number of spinal and head injuries increasing, the red flag has gone up for the medical professionals to do something urgently.
A meeting of rugby stakeholders has now taken place which include the FRU Development Unit, the Referees Association, the Secondary Schools Rugby Association, first aiders, womens rugby officials and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Wong said that the surge in these injuries needs urgent action.
The specific details of the condition of the six players who have suffered catastrophic injuries will not be revealed at this stage but Wong said that it is a real concern.
Some recommendations have now been forwarded to the Fiji Rugby Union Board and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
It has been strongly recommended that the issue of accreditation for coaches, trainers and referees at the secondary school rugby level should be assessed.
Wong said that they also want to work in partnership with the Education Ministry.
Other recommendations include a clear injury management process, medical requirements during games, the implementation and policing of an injury incident report structure and the setting up of a Player Welfare Trust Fund.
Stay with us as we will have more on this later this afternoon.
Story by: Vijay Narayan
