IF there has been one constant in the world of rugby league in 2022 then it is the debate over concussion and head injuries.
The sport was thrown a stunning curveball earlier in the year when 75 former rugby league and union players outlined their intention to sue the Rugby Football League and Rugby Football Union on account of alleged negligence regarding concussion protocols and consequences.
Now, though, former Leeds Rhinos hero Kevin Sinfield believes that the sport is in the best place it has ever been with regards to safety.
He told BBC Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs: “I think with the advances medically in sport and how they’re governed, players are looked after better than they have ever been.
“Governing bodies have worked really hard to take away as many head collisions as they can, and then how these head collisions are monitored and looked after, the protocols that are in place now are better.
“I’d say it’s safer now than it’s ever been to play sport.
“However, there will continue to be head collisions. If we took all contact away from rugby and it became something very different to what it looks like today, we’d have a lot of people stop playing.”
Of course, Sinfield has been thrust into the limelight in recent years with his determination to raise funds and awareness for his lifelong friend Rob Burrow and Motor Neurone Disease Research.
