The only thing that has gone soft in rugby this week is Leicester boss Matt O’Connor — soft in the head that is

Whether O’Connor likes it or not, professional rugby clubs are employers just like any other and they have a duty of care to their employees

Whether O’Connor likes it or not, professional clubs are employers just like any other (Getty)

Two steps forward, one step back.

Last weekend this column praised Bath’s handling of Sam Underhill’s ongoing battle with concussion and rugby’s increasingly mature approach to managing the most common injury in the game.

This week, a reminder of how much work remains to do to eradicate the “it never did us any harm” attitude towards brain injuries which remains ingrained among some in rugby and could take a generation to consign it to where it belongs; history.

Seemingly no sooner had Bath director of rugby Todd Blackadder spoken with clarity, sensitivity and insight into the issue of concussion elite rugby and the importance of erring on the side of caution than Leicester boss Matt O’Connor dragged by the knuckles back in to the dark old days.

Far from welcoming the work done by World Rugby, the RFU, Premiership Rugby and other unions around the world (most notably the SRU) around concussion education and attempts to reduce the absurdly high rates of head injuries in professional rugby, the Australian railed against the disruption caused by Manu Tuilagi being cited for a tackle which made clear and direct contact with Munster’s Chris Cloete’s jaw in last weekend’s European Champions Cup encounter.

Notwithstanding that Tuilagi was cleared of wrongdoing – wrongly in my view but let’s move on – O’Connor cried foul by implying citing officers were in some way being reckless by attempting to implement a clear World Rugby directive aimed at reducing concussion in the sport.

Seemingly egged on by claims Tuilagi’s citing showed ‘rugby has gone soft’ – a entirely unhelpful notion floated by several former players on social media including an unusually out-of-step Brian O’Driscoll - O’Connor took aim at citing commissioners who dared to suggest Tuilagi should have been shown a red card for the offence.

Tuilagi has been cleared of dangerous play (Getty)

“Everyone involved in the game has to be a little bit more accountable for the actions they take,” he said.

“The players and the coaches are certainly accountable and we’d just like the rest of rugby to be just as accountable, the citing commissioners.

“It’s caused unnecessary disruption. The citing commissioners need to be a little bit more accurate with what they’re sanctioning and what they’re not.

“The sanction has to be a red-card offence and from our perspective there was no red-card offence.

“There was no malice, there was no intent to hurt the bloke. It was a very legitimate tackle. It’s a reaction to the broader community around health and safety and player welfare.”

The centre is free to play this weekend (Getty)

Ah, the old health and safety card. One step away from political correctness gone mad. Giving a shit about players brains? Rugby’s gone soft, don’t you know.

By O’Connor’s logic, because Tuilagi did not intend to take Cloete’s head off with his shoulder, he could not possibly be blamed or punished for almost doing so. Conveniently overlooking the fact malice, intent and other such intangibles are no longer taken into consideration when assessing an alleged act of foul play.

It is impossible to ever know for sure if a player intends to cause damage to an opponent so the only basis upon which a judgement can be made is on outcome. Rugby has taken a quantum leap forward in this regard.

While there is some painful medicine to swallow, it surely must be swallowed as any serious rugby observer will admit – O’Connor included – professional rugby union is in the midst of an existential injury crisis which goes to the very heart of the sport.

It is simply not good enough for the likes of O’Connor - stuck as he is in the dark old days when concussed players were routinely mocked by their team-mates as they struggled to regain control of their faculties after suffering a brain injury – to play the victim after one of his players was legitimately cited for a reckless and high tackle.

If Tuilagi had aimed at his opponent’s waist or abdomen he would not have run the risk of making contact with his head.

O’Connor should have thanked his lucky stars the player was not banned and focused his efforts on improving his players tackle technique, instead of attacking a system increasingly designed to protect players from themselves.

Instead, he revealed his true colours. Player welfare? For softies. Concussion awareness? Health and safety gone mad.

Rugby simply can’t have it both ways. Either it wants to reduce intolerable and unsustainable concussion and injury rates – and therefore accept previously acceptable practices are no longer acceptable – or it sits idly by as the bodies pile up on the slab.

Rugby has gone soft? Absolute crap. It has never been more physical or demanding of player’s absolute commitment to cause. A line needs drawing somewhere.

Whether O’Connor likes it or not, professional rugby clubs are employers just like any other and they have a duty of care to their employees. Yes, rugby is a brutally tough game played by astonishingly brave men and women but there must be limits to the physicality. If there are not, it is back to the wild west when players were expendable pieces of meat. Perhaps that what you want, Matt?

Leicester head coach O'Connor (Getty)

There is now enough medical evidence to show that repeated blows to the head can increase the chances of early on-set dementia in later life.

Young men and women have died as a direct result of ill-educated and ill-informed coaches, referees, medics and players who have failed to grasp the importance of protecting players brains.

Just ask Peter and Karen Robinson, whose teenage son Ben would still be alive today if a single person present at the game between Carrickfergus Grammar and Dalriada had recognised the symptoms of concussion. Tell the Robinsons this is health and safety going too far. Tell the Robinsons rugby has gone soft.

Tuilagi’s citing may have been an inconvenience for O’Connor and his coaching staff but that’s a small price to pay as rugby wrestles desperately for a sustainable future. The only thing that’s gone soft is O’Connor. Soft in the head, that is.