Call to ban rugby for under-18s because it harms the brain

Playing rugby involves plenty of blows to the skull, which can cause cognitive harm and increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia. — AFP

The risk of severe head injury in rugby union means it has become a form of child abuse and should be banned among under-18s, according to a new report by British academics.

The sport has just celebrated its bicentenary, with folklore proclaiming the game started when William Webb Ellis ran with a football at Rugby School, central England, in 1823.