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They’re running a trial in RL academy atm - no tackling above the armpit. First game, Leeds v Bradford, 54 penalties. Not the same sport, and not watchable. If people want to play rugby, sign a disclaimer and let them get on with it.
Well the penalties would reduce you'd think over time you'd think, impossible to untrain yourself about the habit of a lifetime overnight (even if only a 13 year old lifetime)
But the broader point is nail on the head I think, I'm all for making sport safer, but it has to be done in a way that doesn't stop it being the same sport. Taking heading away from football for instance would fundamentally change the sport for me. NFL is the one threading the needle at the moment, that sport has had so many changes (a lot of them needed) to protect player safety that they're right on the edge of transforming the sport to something different.
There are precedents the other way though, had there been social media back in the day i can only imagine the outcry of making boxers wear gloves...
I used to see a fair bit of road bowling on holiday in Ireland in the 70s and 80s. Is there much now the country roads are much busier? Not dangerous for the competitors, two old boys hurling a steel ball along the road to see who can get between points in the fewest throws, but it used to amaze me how many would people would be crammed in on either side of the road ahead of them, even falling into the ditch, risking a crack on the head from a cannonball.
Still huge in West Cork. They still stand there, oblivious to falling bowls and speeding cars. Nutters. Huge sums are wagered too, if anyone survives to collect their winnings.
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
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