Scotland Rugby Veteran on Toll of Head Injuries

Former Scotland rugby centre Nick De Luca speaks out about his experiences with head injuries during his professional career. Known for his dynamic play and tenacity on the field, De Luca shares insights into the physical challenges he encountered, offering a perspective on the impact these injuries had on his rugby journey.

During your career what was your personal experience with head injuries?

I had numerous and various head injuries. On occasion I was back the week later and passed all the tests. On two occasions in particular including my last year at Wasps, I was out for over six months with one and that ultimately led to my decision to step away from the game.

How has your awareness of concussion symptoms changed over the course of your career?

I think everyone is much more aware of the types of things they are looking for and how to diagnose. I think we were well educated through my time and I was aware of what the symptoms were. Hence why it took me so long to get back occasionally because I was very aware of what my brain should have been doing or should not have been doing.

Do you think current governing bodies are doing enough to protect players from head injuries?

Urmm… how do you protect them from a game that ultimately has head injuries? I think we are trying… with a few ideas like tackle height but I think there is still a lot more to be done. I think there’s too much stigma against head gear. I’ve seen stuff come and go because it’s deemed to be too hard and it’s not quite right. But actually it’s softer than hitting someone else’s head. So why wouldn’t it be a go? So there’s probably more work to be done but the awareness is the first step and they’re working hard in that sphere.

Do you think the growing awareness of head injuries will change the way rugby is played in the future?

Yes it is currently, we are seeing numbers of head injuries drop massively. A big issue, and we see it with football when heading the ball. We’re treating our kids as though they are professional rugby players, and we don’t know enough yet about the volume of incidents just in daily life. I saw something recently that said a burpee is the same as a micro concussion, so actually we can’t not damage our brain, it’s just about different levels.

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