D'Arcy Waldegrave: Sportstalk host on the NRL limiting contact in training to reduce head injuries

In a major safety move, the National Rugby League has capped contact in training in a bid to reduce injuries including concussion.

Reports reveal all 17 NRL and 12 NRLW clubs have been informed of the development, with guidelines limiting the minutes of contact in both in-season and pre-season training sessions.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained further. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Darcy water Grave sports stalk coasters with us.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Hello, does it sounded very strange?

Speaker 1 (00:04):
I know we don't often talk about drugs on this
shows on the Nag, on the nags and do you
know what I love is that the police officers now
call them nangs as well instead of nitrous ox.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Side people are still doing this obviously.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Mate, stand by for that anyway. Talk to me about
the NRL thing. So how is this rule going to work?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
I don't know if it will in all, honestly, what
they're doing, what what's happening is you've got one hundred
hours between games where you're allowed full contact training because
they want to mitigate CTE concussion risk, so on and
so forth by not in the training part. Let them
go hard out of each other. Listen for the wa
and the pun as well. Right, and there's slightly more

(00:48):
limits on the women as far as time is concerned.
But you know, all the contact sports are under huge
pressure from players who suffer the outrageous condition of concussion
of CTE and they need to be seen to be
doing something a bit late, a bit late, as in

(01:10):
rugby has been doing the National Football League's been doing it.
They've all been it for a long time. They've got
pretty big concussion protocols. It's very nice in training. I
don't know really how many people get seriously smacked in
training that warrants concussion or being stood down. Maybe it
happens more than I know. You've got to look at
what happens on the park and how they deal with that. Now, look,

(01:33):
I tell it that horrific interest, Well, there you go.
But that would that be limited in this or would
they have someone I'm sure there are restrictions monitor. Yeah,
what it does get rough, But to me, I don't
want to make light of this because ct iseous most

(01:53):
insidious disease. Ever, here's a thing. You got a choice
when you play sport. You're a choice where you find camaraderie,
where you find fitness, where you find entertainment and loads
of much success in sport. Right, You've got that choice.
If you want to avoid the possibility of concussion and CTE,

(02:15):
what don't you do play that sport? Precisely? I mean
that sounds really harsh because I know that people love
the sports and they get the sports and they want
to play, and I know we love watching them superstars
out there the Mighty All Blacks, the Wahs, the like
as well. But it's one of those things in sport
that if you play it, regardless of what they put

(02:35):
in place and training.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Yep, it's going to happen.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
It's going to happen. Agreement, It's going to happen. And
I just say personal responsibility. Anyone else can do what
they can. But can they really stop it completely? Can
they limit it that much with some arbitrary rules. I'm
not one hundred percent sure, but it's better than nothing.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, all right, are you talking about this on the show.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
No, I've just been caught up with this and I
can't stop thinking about it now.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
I agree with you about this as well, and I
think ultimately if you it's it's like being a builder.
You know you're going to break your back, Like you
are going to end up with a broken body from building.
You're going to end up probably with a broken head.
If you play rugby, it's.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Like being a broadcast. Do you know that you're going
to be dead you're old? Yeah, and I definitely know that.
Oh mate, you.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
Should see my house mate. Said I said to husband today,
I said, want some said, Iggy wants peanut butter on
his toast. I came back five minutes later. I was like,
where he goes? What? I was like, oh.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Jeez, well, I think a lot of that though, is deliberate,
and he actually came here. I just choose not to answer.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
That is what I suspected. Thank you, Darcy.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
On the show tonight, we're talking to the returning mental
skills coach about Gilbert and is back in the All
Blacks after a brain now, so we'll talk to him
on the show.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
Now, everybody's going to say it was Dave for Annie,
but it'll be Gilbert. Thank you, Darcy. Darcy Watergrave, sports
talk host for twenty three. For more from Heather Duplessy
Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd be from
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