The biting allegation against a Toulouse player and official counter allegation by his Club, Toulouse Olympique, that a Rochdale player had him in a dangerous neck leverage brace raises an interesting safety concern.



The player claims a spontaneous safety reaction to get himself out of the dangerous position.



The Rochdale player allegedly delivering the neck brace shields his body from the referee and brings the Toulouse player to the ground out of view of the far side touch judge closest to the incident.



The Club's official response is here: www.to13.com/2016/04/29/rochdale ... statement/ - I would imagine the Club will tender professional medical evidence of the danger of the tackler on it's player - but we will have to wait until the judiciary verdict on this serious incident, and have faith in the process. Let's hope.



Should we have 2nd referees to monitor the tackling and visibility required to ensure the game is played safely ?



If you inspect the video here on 42mins you will see the Toulouse player in a tackle and a highly suspicious and lengthy neck brace / leverage. View here : https the other being a friends son in RU, never to play contact sport again ... i would ask th question again :



.... in the interests of better safety, do we need a 2nd referee?



If not, how should we better manage safety in these situations like the neck leveraging.

The biting allegation against a Toulouse player and official counter allegation by his Club, Toulouse Olympique, that a Rochdale player had him in a dangerous neck leverage brace raises an interesting safety concern.



The player claims a spontaneous safety reaction to get himself out of the dangerous position.



The Rochdale player allegedly delivering the neck brace shields his body from the referee and brings the Toulouse player to the ground out of view of the far side touch judge closest to the incident.



The Club's official response is here: www.to13.com/2016/04/29/rochdale ... statement/ - I would imagine the Club will tender professional medical evidence of the danger of the tackler on it's player - but we will have to wait until the judiciary verdict on this serious incident, and have faith in the process. Let's hope.



Should we have 2nd referees to monitor the tackling and visibility required to ensure the game is played safely ?



If you inspect the video here on 42mins you will see the Toulouse player in a tackle and a highly suspicious and lengthy neck brace / leverage. View here : https the other being a friends son in RU, never to play contact sport again ... i would ask th question again :



.... in the interests of better safety, do we need a 2nd referee?



If not, how should we better manage safety in these situations like the neck leveraging.

Just for the record, MRP / RFL state in the Rochdale v Toulouse incident :







So it's dangerous, it wasn't picked up, and because the bite mark was evidenced and not the tackle, the Rochdale player got let off and the Toulouse player got 4 weeks ( the minimum ). Not fair on balance.



I think player safety needs to be the priority to lessen serious injuries, so that we get our priorities right.



Heck in my day, cracking someone's nuts, and a right hook to the jaw were part of being a man in RL. The game has rightfully moved on, so have the sponsors that support the game and the crowds that come. Something has to be done to better police the tackle.



It's urgent, IMO. Not enough ref's is lame - get enough refs or officials.

Just for the record, MRP / RFL state in the Rochdale v Toulouse incident :







So it's dangerous, it wasn't picked up, and because the bite mark was evidenced and not the tackle, the Rochdale player got let off and the Toulouse player got 4 weeks ( the minimum ). Not fair on balance.



I think player safety needs to be the priority to lessen serious injuries, so that we get our priorities right.



Heck in my day, cracking someone's nuts, and a right hook to the jaw were part of being a man in RL. The game has rightfully moved on, so have the sponsors that support the game and the crowds that come. Something has to be done to better police the tackle.



It's urgent, IMO. Not enough ref's is lame - get enough refs or officials.