protective head gear

PROTECTIVE HEAD GEAR IN JUNIOR RUGBY LEAGUE SHOULD BE MADE COMPULSORY

I wish to highlight an incident last week, in a junior rugby league game, whereby 2 young players were involved in an unfortunate clash of heads. None of the players were wearing Protective head gear. One of the players injured was local rugby league prospect Jonny Lomax who was representing his school, Rainford High, in the Powergen Cup 1/4 final. The referee, David Lowe, who has been refereeing the game for years, said it was one of the most sickening incidents he had ever seen. Both players were knocked unconscious and it took some time before they came round. Having regained consciousness Jonny began vomiting which persisted for sometime. Jonny received the appropriate treatment and visited casualty as a precautionary measure, he received treatment and was allowed home. The pain and discomfort Jonny suffered over the next few days got progressively worse, culminating in him being rushed into Alder Hey Hospital during the late evening of Sunday 22nd may 2005. During the early hours of the following day he was admitted to theatre where he had 3 hours of open scull surgery to relieve pressure to his brain.

The pain that Jonny has gone through is indescribable not to mention the emotion and suffering both his parents and close family have gone through. Jonny is a well developed 14 yr old lad he has an incredible pain thresh-hold and plays the game more committed than most. He is the club captain at Orrell St James under 14's and represents St Helens Service Area as well as being selected for National Camp. He was one of the youngest ever players to sign for St Helens and is due to tour Australia next year with St Helens.

The purpose of this article is to appeal to parents, coaches and the relevant governing bodies within North West Counties, BARLA and the RFL to make the wearing of Protective Headgear in junior rugby league compulsory. It is a Health and Safety matter as there are some lethal weapons on a rugby field in the form of elbows and knees when they come into collision with a head. Two heads colliding at speed is no different to a brick falling from scaffolding on a building site. Health and Safety on a building site dictates the wearing of hard hats so why not protective headgear on a rugby field. We have a duty of care to these youngsters and my view is that protective head gear should be worn upto the age of 16. This should apply to all matches whether for school, club or at representative level. If a player chooses not to wear protective headgear he has the potential to cause himself risk of serious injury but he also has the potential to cause someone else serious injury, which in my view should be avoided at all costs. I recently attended a Child Protection Course as part of my current coaching development. We talked about not allowing the taking photographs of the lads playing rugby and not swearing in front of them. We also talked about the pitfalls of coaches being involved with players of the opposite sex and even covered bullying and not putting unnecessary demands on children with regard to various types of training and performance enhancing drugs. We did not cover the most important topic, that of ensuring each child is equipped with the appropriate protective bodyware in the form of headgear, shoulder pads and gum shields.

We must learn from this unfortunate incident and put things into place to ensure no similar incidents occur in the future.

Orrell st James Under 14's are about to start recruiting for next season's campaign, anyone interesting in signing will not be allowed to play without protective headgear and that applies to any new players and the current squad.

Jonny is likely to be in hospital for some time, any get well cards from local clubs or letters of support on this debateable topic should be forwarded to the club secretary Jean Ball (Details in NWC handbook), on this forum or to Dave Atherton at e-mail - abbey@athey943.wanadoo.co.uk.

A BIG THANKS

On behalf of Johnny Lomax (Captain of Orrell St James Under 16’s) and his parents (Ian and Alison) and close family I would like to thank all those who by telephone, e-mail or post who have offered their best wishes for Johnny’s speedy recovery. The response has been overwhelming and I know Ian and Alison will be eternally grateful. It would appear from the response from different clubs and coaches that junior rugby will benefit from this tragic and unfortunate incident in that the wearing of protective headgear could become compulsory.



One thing I missed from my original post was the fact that Johnny normally wears protective headgear; it was just this one occasion where he chose not to wear it.



As regards Johnny’s progress to date, well this is nothing short of a miracle. The staff at the Alder Hey are amazed at Johnny’s positive attitude, he rarely moans about his intense pain and he has been a model patient. The fact that he is top physical condition has no doubt aided his road to recovery. One of the first things Jonny asked his dad within the first couple of days of his operation was whether he would be fit to play at the weekend – there is just no holding him down.



Jonny has been out of bed, sat in a chair and has even walked within the confines of the ward. He may be out of hospital over the weekend or early next week which judging by the extent of his operation is a tribute to modern day medicine and the staff and surgeons at Alder Hey hospital. Johnny is now on a long journey to recovery but I hope his progress will give comfort to those who like many have been numb with emotion since this tragic story unfolded.