The bigger they come … the harder they hit

As the Heineken Cup kicks off, concern is growing at the number of injuries and player fatigue. Simon Lewis investigates.

THERE it was, in a nutshell. A headline in an English daily newspaper last month encapsulating the whole problem that besets professional rugby. ‘Injuries and fixture congestion brings game to the crossroads’ and sat atop an eloquent summation by Wales and Lions legend Gerald Davies of how the modern player is spending as much time on the treatment table as he is on the field of play.

The fact that more players are being injured more often and concern caused thereby was the gist of Davies’ opinion piece, which wrapped itself around an advert for the forthcoming England v Argentina Test at Twickenham on November 11.