follow @forty20magazine December 2023 n Volume 13 Issue 12
Season’s greetings to all our readers n Welcome to our 150th issue, something we could never have envisaged, are ver y proud of and a landmark we are grateful to you, our wonderfully loyal readers, for enabling us to achieve. Throughout those chronicled, ever-changing times, rugby league has needed and shown an ability to adapt to different environments – at times slower than perhaps would have been liked – but it has generally, as its DNA indicates, been proactive rather than reactive, best illustrated with its Covid response. There is no doubt that the current landscape of all contact spor ts is one of constantly shifting sands. The RFL, like all governing bodies, is seen as a soft target, par ticular ly when it doesn’t have an obvious PT Barnum-type figure at the helm to rabble rouse for it. However, its commissioned research and acceptance of 44 recommendations relating to future preser vation of brain health in all player s – see pages 15-17 – showed a clarity of message and highly impressive leader ship. “We are just a responsible governing body, reacting and adapting the spor t to ensure its long-term health,” insisted director of operations and legal Rober t Hicks, who has been in the vanguard of the vital debate. Naturally, the initial social media reaction focussed on a lowering of the tackle height to armpit level, which some said would ‘kill’ the game. Ludicrously, someone even set up a petition to prevent such an amendment, which is due to be implemented in the community game and reser ve fixtures before transferring to the Betfred leagues in 2025. In this case, the devil is indeed in the detail – we recommend reading it here: www.rugby-league. com/new-for-2024, alongside the rationale, before rushing to judgement. The data is based on ten year s of research and any findings will continue to be held to
Too high: Tackles like this one on Wigan’s Kai Pearce-Paul by Lachlan Lam must be below the shoulder SWpix.com
Kneejerk reactions n tonyhannan@for ty-20.com philcaplan@for ty-20.com n informed scr utiny and the law of unintended consequence. RFL chair Simon Johnson said at a comprehensive media briefing: “This has been a central par t of what the board has been discussing ever since it was brought to us at the star t of the year, and I am in no doubt that what we have had to do here is star t to lead what
I'm describing as major cultural change in the game. Change is difficult and people resist, but we are having to show the leader ship that Dr Chris Brookes has continued to call on us to show. “We’ve wanted to make sure this is not a top down imposition. It is a series of comprehensive recommendations introduced on the basis of data and science and after wide consultation. We are introducing these changes in a managed and a graduated fashion and the issue will remain at the hear t of the board’s deliberations.” n At the same time, 268 rugby union player s have now brought a class action to the High Cour t against the RFU and Welsh RU for negligence and failure to mitigate against head trauma to determine which test cases can go forward for trial. The proceedings are still in the pre-action phase, and there is the oppor tunity for the disputing par ties to reach ear ly settlement to avoid trial, as in the NFL, but that appears unlikely at this stage. Pressure group Progressive Rugby, which has been lobbying for changes to improve player welfare in rugby union, have criticised what they see as inaction by that spor t’s global governing body on the back of the RFL’s reforms. Professor John Fairclough issued a statement condemning World Rugby for so far failing to introduce similar rule changes. “It is bitter ly disappointing,” he said, “that World Rugby has been left floundering in terms of player welfare initiatives by the RFL, whom should be congratulated.”
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New year, new outlook 15 What does 2024 have in store?
Pride of London 5 Trevor Baxter’s monthly profile Five Drives & a Kick 7 John Kear’s festive farewell, Team Colostomy, Mike Ford and more The Reality Is... 13 Brian Noble MBE sends some Christmas cheer from Sydney Catalan conversation 18 Steve McNamara in profile Café des Treizistes 20 Mike Rylance ponders Toulouse Louie the Xmas Lip 22 Our man looks over his career teamsheet
Mrs Carter’s Diary 24 Gemma takes a back seat Stand Up for League 25 Wigan-Saints Yuletide Challenge Gill on fighting MND 26 Peter Smith meets an RL battler On the Mic 27 Our man Paul Cooke joins York Comps taking shape 28 Championship and League 1 Priim and Proper 32 Danika Priim on Women’s RL
Caring for community 33 Shine Steel rues Chapeltown Absent Friends 36 Those we have lost in 2023 Footy20 40 The NRL is off to Las Vegas Match of the Month 42 When France went to Kenya Latham’s Loft 44 Bramley’s Floodlit Trophy win RL Books of the Year 48 Phil Caplan flicks the pages Any Other Business 50 Mar tin Kelner gets a haircut
England are crash hot 30 Tom Halliwell on a win in Marseille
December 2023 3Forty2043 150
