Matt Dawson reveals why he doesn’t want his children to play rugby

Matt Dawson, ex-England rugby star, cites the decision to not penalize Owen Farrell for his red card tackle against Wales as a reason he discourages his children from playing rugby.

The ‘Bunker’ review system resulted in an elevation of Farrell’s yellow card to a red card following a high tackle on Taine Basham.

Nonetheless, during the assessment by a disciplinary panel, they noted a shift in the dynamics of the contact zone as a mitigating factor.

The panel explained that the participation of England’s Jamie George in the tackle influenced Basham’s change in trajectory.

“I’m only talking from my own experience. And the ramifications of this for me I will be telling my two sons and encouraging them not to play rugby,” said Dawson.

“This whole event highlights the fact that I don’t want them to play rugby. And I know that’s absolutely mirrored with thousands if not tens of thousands of parents around who are going to watch that and think ‘I don’t want my son taking that tackle and it’s going to be okay on a Sunday morning.

“Or, I certainly don’t want my son or daughter making that tackle on somebody else and thinking that’s okay.

“Knocking someone into next week and giving them a concussion. I don’t want that on my conscience or my kid’s conscience.”

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RUGBY QUIZ:

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Matt Dawson’s all-time England XV:

BACK-THREE:

• 15. Jason Robinson
• 14. Rory Underwood
• 11. Ben Cohen

CENTRES:

• 13. Jeremy Guscott
• 12. Manu Tuilagi

CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO

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