Popular Welsh referee Nigel Owens believes fewer substitutions during games could actually improve safety in rugby union.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today Programme, he said big and strong players tend to run directly at opponents rather than trying to go past them.
Good plan!
— nuunlimited (@nuunlimited) January 22, 2020
Nigel Owens believes rugby could be made safer with fewer substitutions https://t.co/gkF8Qf3dY4
With fewer replacements, Owens believes players would need to be smaller and lighter which would “reduce the impact” of collisions but he added a lot of research needed to be done first.
He also said World Rugby is doing everything it can to minimise the risk of injuries.
“The negatives of playing the sport are outweighed by the positives by a long way,” he said.
“It’s a physical sport, a lot of people go through rugby without having a serious injury. Unfortunately for some people, they do receive an injury or they’re unlucky.”