The decision to "shore up" player welfare standards in Japan was a "no-brainer" as there are some "major concerns" about standards in the country, according to former All Blacks player Josh Blackie. Japan is to host the Rugby World Cup in '19 but critics have expressed concern about the readiness of Japan, where rugby remains a minority spectator event, to host the competition. Addressing the issue of player concussions in rugby, Blackie, who currently works for the Int'l Rugby Players' Association, said, "By and large the tier one countries [at elite level] have fairly robust systems in place, especially with HIA (head injury assessment) coming into law." HIA, which came into law in Aug. '15, identifies and treats instances of concussion at the elite level of rugby. Blackie said, "In Japan there was some major concerns and some major incidents highlighting those concerns.” He said that these incidents were "probably a bit concerning to players and there was a bit of groundswell I guess in terms of this needing to be fixed because it’s not good enough for us.” These concerns came to light around 12 months ago and were addressed by the rugby authorities. Blackie added, "The players obviously highlighted a number of concerns and in conjunction with World Rugby we made sure that the JRFU (Japan Rugby Football Union) were engaged around how we were going to bring them up to speed with incorporating the HIA process which other countries are doing. We are happy that the HIA has been implemented in Japan, and I guess now the litmus test is how it is going to function at the coal face." As concussions play an increasing role in rugby, World Rugby is taking pro-active measures to reduce the risk of these types of injuries. As well as HIA, World Rugby has also initiated a program called "Recognise and Remove" which aims to limit concussion at all levels.
John Reynolds is a writer in London.
