IMG rugby has been warned this week that theyÔÇÖre not covered by the unionÔÇÖs insurance and should not continue playing within their current structure.
Representatives from the studentsÔÇÖ union went to the pitches on Wednesday to tell students that the university could not endorse the sport and that they were not insured were anything to happen to them.
gair rhydd covered the controversial successes of the league last week (issue 986) prompting the union to step up their attempts to warn players of the dangers of their sport.
The statement claimed that ÔÇ£Cardiff University and Cardiff University StudentsÔÇÖ Union do not and will not sanction any contact rugby activity outside the three established rugby clubsÔÇØ, and was well received by many of the six teams preparing to play on Wednesday.
Yet whilst the information appeared to be well received, none of the teams involved and none of the players stopped playing because of this.
Many players accepted and already understood the risks they were taking in playing IMG rugby and simply accepted them as risks they were willing to take. Speaking to gair rhydd, one player said that ÔÇ£if you get injured you go to hospital, get fixed up and come back – itÔÇÖs like any other sportÔÇØ, a view was certainly not one which the union was trying to promote in talking to the rugby teams.
One Combined Services player said that theyÔÇÖd, ÔÇ£rather be playing rugby without their backing than not at allÔÇØ – a view which seemed almost universal across the 3 games being played at Blackweir.
In spite of the apathy from players and the fact that all teams who were spoken to continued to play, captains and players appear hopeful of resolving issues, with three teams confirming they would rather be backed by the AU and University. One of the newest teams – Earth – even said that ÔÇ£it would help to be funded for proper refs… if they gave us refs the ref makes sure the gameÔÇÖs safe so no one gets injured.ÔÇØ
Whilst the players were being encouraged not to play, some questioned what alternatives there were. The manager of the combined Physics and History team, Tom Thurstan questioned the AUÔÇÖs statement from last weeks gair rhydd, ÔÇ£the statement from the AU saying that there were ample opportunities to play for the university teams is a joke. One of our best players, and probably one of the best players in the league, couldn’t even get a game for the university 4ths last year.
ÔÇ£Where does that leave the players who are much worse than him? Without a chance.ÔÇØ
The StudentsÔÇÖ Union and University still do not endorse or encourage anyone to play IMG rugby, but have expressed interest in trying to resolve the issue.
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