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Are they really serious about banning tackling?

David Pocock is better than Mike Hooper. Simple. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Roar Guru
5th March, 2016
11

I’m Tom Law, shamelessly bringing you the stories that you don’t care about.

Many things in this world make me angry, from wasps, a bad cup of tea, Piers Morgan, TTIP and so on.

So imagine the furore that I was put in this week when I heard of a possible parliamentary debate to ban tackling from rugby in the British game.

For a bit of background information, some stuck-up housewives with nothing better to do than drink wine at 11 o’clock in the morning and fuss over the possibility of their children combusting for being exposed to an atmosphere containing oxygen have plucked some numbers from some uncreditable scientists.

They then lobbied it to MPs who subsequently ran it through the national press like the Daily Mail, a newspaper that would print a story drawing attention to the health benefits of swimming, while the adjacent page runs an article claiming swimming causes cancer.

But I digress. To clarify, this is not Redfern and league is not dominant. When the press and government call for a tackling ban in rugby, they almost certainly only have union in mind.

League trying to stir up a fuss in this arena is like Mussolini championing the Axis invasion of France.

Nevertheless, in an act of friendship to our rival code and those that choose to follow union over league, I will write this article for both sports. Well, we really should do all we can for the brain dead.

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I don’t have time to go into the exact details as to why I am so angry (mainly because in five billion years, the sun will blow up), but how anyone can knock the health effects of rugby when it contributes so much to physical health, as well as mental bonding with other teammates, and tackling, while occasionally yielding negative results, is an integral part of the game.

It would be like introducing a 30mp/h speed limit to Formula One.

Public cases like this only serve to further scare and alienate children from our sport, especially in the UK with such low youth turnout. How can we justify sending them mixed messages that the sport we wish to attract them to is unhealthy?

More Mitchell Pearce
» The official NRL player misdemeanour rate card
» Mitchell Pearce has had his last alcoholic drink
» Pearce cops eight weeks and $125K fine
» The fine is huge, but Pearce is just lucky to be playing footy
» Mitch Pearce’s welfare the priority: RLPA
» WATCH: The original footage; does the punishment fit the crime?

The answer is we’re not, but MPs are. Snobbish, idiotic, out-of-touch legislatures, who would’ve comprehended such a thing?

I particularly feel strongly about trying to involve children in our game not because I’m a BBC employee, but because they’re the future. If I had my way, schools would be provided with free tickets to help fill stadia, boost atmospheres and build a larger future fan-base, with minimal economic effects in the present.

What do you think Roarers? Could they ban the tackle?

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