'We have a responsibility to make the game safe': Guidelines to limit contact in rugby training

Irish rugby may be ahead of the curve in many respects in this area due to its centralised structure

Irish rugby may be ahead of the curve in many respects in this area due to its centralised structure

It was at Leinster more than a decade ago that Joe Schmidt began to transform player welfare practices in Irish rugby and yesterday he helped launch a series of World Rugby guidelines that are intended to spread those principles around the globe.

World Rugby, the sport’s governing body, has published new guidelines in conjunction with International Rugby Players, that recommend limiting the levels of contact training professional teams should conduct during a week.