Taulupe Faletau has joined the list of players who will watch the start of the Six Nations from the discomfort of an armchair, painkilllers close at hand. Robin Davey says the game is brutalising itself, denying fans of star names and putting strains on teams’ finances, never mind the strains on the bodies themselves.

 

Rugby is in crisis with injuries mounting on an almost daily basis, player after player going down to stretch resources of club, region and country to the absolute limit.

The effect is to seriously weaken teams – whether domestic or international – deprive fans of the ability to watch their favourite players, which they pay heavily to see, and forces regions and clubs to lengthen their squads considerably, incurring debts in the process.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the game is now at breaking point, and surely something has to be done about it pretty quickly.

Only this week, for example, key No.8 Taulupe Faletau, vital to Wales’ cause in the forthcoming Six Nations tournament, has been forced out of at least part of the competition with a second serious knee injury.

That is merely the latest in a whole series of injury problems which have hit Welsh rugby, already under-resourced compared with some of their rivals.

Important players already ruled out of the Six Nations for Wales are Lions captain Sam Warbuton, Lions man-of-the-series in New Zealand this year Jonathan Davies, and now Faletau for most, if not all, of it.

In addition, Jake Ball must be a doubt after suffering a major shoulder injury in the autumn series – much of which Liam Williams missed while George North and Samson Lee have also been out for some time.

That’s all bad enough, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg in the Welsh professional game as a whole.

At one stage in October, for example, the Dragons were without an incredible 29 players and had to draft in a few on loan while relying heavily on players fresh out of the academy system.

Their tale of woe continues and within days in the past week they’ve lost both Ollie Griffiths, with an ankle injury expected to put him out for two months, and Brok Harris, whose injured shoulder will sideline him for between three and four months.

Apart from that, Nic Cudd got injured very early on and will be out for the season while Zane Kirchner, Harrie Keddie, Lewis Evans, Carl Meyer, Sam Beard, Rhys Buckley and Tavis Knoyle have been out for much of the season.

It’s much the same story at the other regions. Cardiff Blues have been without Warburton, Gethin Jenkins, Gareth Anscombe, Jack Roberts and Rhys Gill for months. Kristian Dacey and Josh Navidi have been among others also sidelined for periods.

At the Ospreys, Dimitri Arhip, Justin Tipuric, Ashley Beck, Hanno Dirkson, Rory Thornton, Steve Watkin and Scott Baldwin are among those who have been out of action while for the Scarlets the list includes Jonathan Davies, James Davies, Gareth Davies, Rob Evans and Will Boyde.

There are plenty of others – the above is merely a selection – as harassed coaches try to fathom out how to get a fit side with replacements ready for what is often a key league or European game.

Yet already much of the physical element of the game has been removed. The scrums, for instance, have long been de-powered from the charging, bull and matador affairs they were when Pontypool were in their heyday back in the Seventies and Eighties.

And now players are not allowed to challenge an opponent in the air, they can’t tackle around the shoulder area, and they certainly can’t tip a player up in a tackle. If they do, they will inevitably receive the red card.

So in view of all that why are there so many injuries? Why is the game in such peril with some parents reluctant to encourage their offspring to take up the sport?

One thing I would remove straightaway – and I’m amazed referees seem to turn a blind eye – is the reckless clearing out of players on the fringes of mauls.

They can often be standing unguarded away from the heat of the action when a hulking great forward careers into an opponent at a rate of knots – smashing him out of the way. Is it any wonder there are such often grave injuries?

Part of the problem is the increasing physicality of the game. We are now a long way down the road of professionalism with players forever bulking up, working in the gym day after day, putting on weight, becoming heavier and heavier, adopting a more confrontational approach, running smack into opposition players rather than trying to get around them.

Yet the body hasn’t changed. Limbs remain exactly the same. But players are being asked to absorb an ever-increasing number of big, often violent, hits.

It’s impossible. So, we have this spiral of injuries, players often out for months, or even a whole season.

The authorities have gone some way to reducing the effect of these collisions by outlawing some excesses. But they will have to go further with serious attention given to what has become the notorious clearing out at rucks an absolute priority, as well as the permissible tackle area itself.

At the end of the day, rugby is a collision sport and if the governing bodies go too far they will reduce its appeal. If they downgrade that essential physical element too severely, then the sport will be the poorer.

But, there has to be a balance where we strive to at least remove some of the worst features from the game.

If that doesn’t happen – and quickly – rugby really will be at the crossroads.