POLL: Should rugby tackling be banned in UK schools?

Medical chiefs are being urged to back a ban on contact rugby in schools across the UK.

New evidence will be presented to the country’s chief medical officers (CMOs) calling for tackling and “other forms of harmful contact” to be taken out of the school game in order to prevent youngsters being injured.

Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Newcastle University’s Professor Allyson Pollock, and senior research associate Graham Kirkwood, claimed that a ban on tackling would reduce concussions, head and neck injuries.

Studies found that of all collision sports, rugby had the highest concussion rates in children.

"The benefits far outweigh the risks" – Dr Colin Michie, consultant Paediatrician at Ealing Hospital on the benefits of rugby for children pic.twitter.com/aJMueNr05A

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) September 26, 2017

As reported in the BBC, World Rugby claims the new evidence is “simply not supported by the data”.

So what do you think? Would you rather children didn’t play full contact rugby at school? Or do you think this would be detrimental to the sport?