By Paul Jones
Shane Williams has revealed that former Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards used “bone on bone” sessions in training with the Wales squad which the former wing felt were more physical than the matches themselves.
The claim comes amid increasing concerns in the game over the long term effects of concussion injuries and the revelations of early onset dementia.
One of Williams’ former Wales teammates, Alix Popham, has been diagnosed with the condition and last week it was announced that Popham and former England World Cup winner Steve Thompson were part of a group legal case for negligence being brought against World Rugby.
Speaking to S4C’s rugby podcast, Y Sgarmes Ddigidol, with Rhodri Gomer, Williams insisted he would still have made the choice for a long career in top level rugby, even had he known more about the risks of dementia.
But he alleged that full contact training sessions with Wales took place up to three times a week and were often more brutal than the Test matches themselves.
“In training, some sessions were tougher than games. We used to call them BOB sessions – bone on bone – and they were more physical than games because in a game I would be standing away from the mauls and the breakdown.
“Sometimes you would do two or three of those sessions in a week, and you would get hit in those sessions, too.
“I think that a lot of boys would get more injuries in training than they would in games, because there is more contact in things like one-on-ones and you train hard.
“I remember when I was in the Wales team, after those BOB sessions, Shaun Edwards would take me to the side and have people like Jamie Roberts and Tom Shanklin to run at me for half an hour, and surely he’s still doing that now.
“And if there was no-one else to do it, he would run at me himself, flat out!
“I had to practice because I had to compete with much bigger boys than me so I was happy to do that. But at the end of the day, that may have made a difference to my head afterwards.
“We are still old school, but I think we are going in the right direction in learning more about it.
“Even if I would have known about the risk of dementia, I would still do the same thing all over again.”
Earlier this year, Williams made a TV documentary – Shane Williams: Rugby, Concussion and Me – in which he confessed he had no idea how many concussions he suffered during 15 years at the top of the game because he played during an era before head injury assessments.
Even before the Popham and Thompson revelations, current Wales star George North has suffered six known concussion injuries and Dan Biggar failed three head injury assessments last season.
Cardiff Blues and Wales back row star Josh Navidi missed the entire autumn series and has yet to return after suffering a concussion injury in training for the Blues in October.
Williams told S4C, “I played at the same time as these boys [Alix Popham and Steve Thompson] and there wasn’t a lot of attention given to concussion at that time.
“Personally, I didn’t know much about it. I thought if you had concussion, you would be ill and you would be sparko. We’ve learnt now that every time you hit your head in a game, it does something to your head and that repetition can cause problems afterwards.
“The problem is that no-one was teaching players over the years; what is concussion, what is brain injury, what happens if you get an injury, so there is a lot to teach people.
“I think we’re going in the right direction because we have HIAs, there’s less contact in training, and players of all ages know more about concussion and how it can affect you in the future.
“But people like Alix Popham and Steve Thompson have seen the effects of it after they finished playing. Popham said that he’d had over 100,000 micro concussions during his career. When you think that you’ve hit your head that many times, it’s going to create a problem over the years.”
Lots of opinions on the early onset dementia news surrounding former players in Rugby. Another opinion in the link from Big Jim, well worth the watch. https://t.co/QeX0cN0g7t
— Stephen Ferris (@StephenFerris6) December 16, 2020
As well as better records and more tests for the effects of head injuries, Williams in in favour of a reduction in the number of substitutions allowed in a game.
“Having less substitutes would make sense, if you want the game to change more. It would make things more open too, players would have to be fitter, and therefore smaller.
“I’m not sure people like Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, would agree with that, as it would change a lot in the game, but it does make sense.
“I think that would make a big difference and I think they are considering that idea. I believe a lot will change in rugby in the next 12 months.”
To listen to the conversation in full and for reaction to the 2023 Rugby World Cup draw with Rhys Patchell, download S4C’s Y Sgarmes Ddigidol podcast, from all main podcast providers.