HAVING taught Physical Education for more than 30 years it has been a real pleasure in more recent years to see more and more young people involved in school sport. The diverse range of sports that are now on offer to pupils in most schools has led to an increase in participation especially in rural Shropshire.

It is very interesting, therefore, when academics, doctors and health experts call for a ban on tackling in school rugby based on a publication which focused on three separate cases of young players being injured.

It is vital that we do all we can to protect our youngsters when they are engaged in physical activities of any kind, but to suggest that we ban, in schools, an essential aspect of the sport because we are seeing unusually rare injuries is ridiculous.

As one of the authors of the report has suggested, we should be looking at making subtle changes to the activity to improve its safety.

In rugby we should be adopting a similar approach to New Zealand who use player size, weight and ability to determine who plays against whom. This would prevent the all-too-common event of the abnormally large 6ft 4inch and 14 stone year 9 pupil tackling the 4ft 8inch 7 stone, when wet through, pupil in the same year group. Or the County squad player handing off the novice.

We have to look at this in a clearer and less dogmatic light. Tackling in rugby is like heading in football, which has been suggested to cause bruising of the brain. Instead of banning heading, the change in the composition of the ball has led to less traumatic impact.

Delaying tackling by banning at school level would only end up with more serious injuries for players when they begin to play adult rugby.

If we are to maintain the current resurgence in sporting activity amongst our youngsters we should be looking at ways of improving enjoyment and safety by making slight alterations to sports activities rather than banning a key part of any particular sport.

I, for one, would not want to see that in school sport.