Rugby in denial over concussion problem, says author Peters

LONDON : Sam Peters had his dream job as a rugby writer but, as his interest in the game's concussion problem came up against a wall of denial and obfuscation, he morphed into an investigative reporter, often a lone, vilified, voice demanding answers.

Now, with the publication of his book "Concussed: Sport's Uncomfortable Truth", which was short-listed for the William Hill sports book of the year award, Peters is seemingly very much on the right side of history.

The book includes a section on the damage of repeated heading in soccer but is predominantly concerned with rugby, a sport Peters played, watched and reported on for his job at the UK's Mail on Sunday.

In his early probing Peters felt himself in an "Emperor's New Clothes" situation, as officialdom routinely said there was not a problem, but the data he was seeing screamed that there absolutely was.

"It was sort of surreal because I'd seen the research that had been done in American football, I was studying the RFU (Rugby Football Union) injury data and I was constantly dumbfounded about the way they presented that data," Peters told Reuters.

"One year there might have been a slight drop in a particular injury frequency and their press release headline would say the game was getting safer, even when the trends were all up.

"I was reporting on 50-odd games a season, seeing with my own eyes that guys were getting knocked out frequently or getting concussed and carrying on playing. To me it just didn't stack up. It was an exercise in denial."

THE STORY

It was not just the rugby establishment that wanted nothing to do with Peters as several of his media colleagues felt that he should be writing about the tries rather than traumas.

"Don't get me wrong, I got a lot of support,