It has never been anything less than brutal: a game where getting beaten and bloodied is natural. But ahead of next month’s Six Nations, the physical demands of rugby are not at the forefront, it is the psychological issues. In November, Owen Farrell announced that he would step down as captain of the England team to “prioritise his and his family’s mental health” during the upcoming Test series. The meaning of conformity in the ‘bandit game’.
This soft side of sports is revealed in all its nakedness full contactA new Netflix docuseries retelling the Guinness Men Six Nations competition in 2023. Its eight episodes chronicle the agony and exhilaration of the competition, the players’ struggle to keep their minds as well as their bodies in full working order.
“Rugby is a very physical sport, there are a lot of big guys doing it,” says Harlequins playmaker Marcus Smith, whom this newspaper recently dubbed “the future of rugby”. “But I think the brave ones are the ones who speak up, express themselves, share their feelings, because it’s very difficult,” he says.
Smith, 24, is among those who led the attack. Last month he expressed regret that he had not taken the time to “recover mentally” after England finished third in the World Cup; When we meet, he looks like he’s just taken a much-needed break, dressed in a black suit and with a Dubai complexion. He says he no longer hesitates to share his struggles. “It’s only when you’re truly vulnerable that you learn so much more about your teammates and yourself.”
The physical brutality of training, crashing into opponents averaging 14kg heavier than past players, watched by millions of fans around the world and criticism pouring in at all hours of the day on social media, has pushed many in the sport to their limits.
Increasing awareness of these challenges has seen the introduction of mindfulness at club level over the last five or six years, where players are tasked with focusing on their breathing (something that Smith says comes in handy when it comes to goal kicks). Sessions are also held with sports psychologists; between these sessions “getting things off your chest… You don’t want to carry too much baggage; you want to be free,” says Smith.
While these efforts are welcome, they reveal an interesting dilemma at play: an increased focus on protecting what’s inside players’ heads, but apparently not their heads themselves. No game or skull is immune from blows in scrimmages or hard-fought contests; shirts are routinely stained with blood, the ears on accessories look less and less like human body parts. (Inside full contactIreland prop Andrew Porter jokingly describes his mangled right ear as “the good one”.)
Rugby journalist Sam Peters wrote in his book last year: Concussion: The Disturbing Truth of SportsHe said the game had become “unbearably dangerous” after turning professional in 1995, seeking more viewers and sponsorship deals. Even reckless.” Still, “brain injuries continue to be mismanaged,” he says.
Physically speaking, rugby is often compared to the NFL; The NFL settled a $765 million (£603 million) lawsuit with retired players who began experiencing severe cognitive decline in 2013 and claimed they were misled by their long-term head injuries. The NFL did not accept liability. Last month, a class action lawsuit was filed against the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the game’s governing body, World Rugby, on behalf of nearly 300 rugby players who suffered life-changing brain trauma. All three parties vehemently deny these allegations.
The documentary, which was announced as a sequel to Netflix’s Emmy-winning film, has little coverage of the subject. Formula 1: Survival Instinct – Except for Sebastian Negri’s concussion in the Italy-England match. In the documentary, he says with painful coolness that the blow to the head from the Italian winger “knocked him out” and that he choked on his own language; An event that he cannot remember. It’s also hard to hear his fiancée, Greta Franza Durante, tell him, “I thought you were dead.” Negri thinks the outcome might have been completely different had it not been for England’s rogue prop Ellis Genge, who saw something was wrong, took off Negri’s mouthpiece and turned him on his side. “He saved my life.”
However, in team conversations a short time later, full contact It shows some coaches pushing their players to “slaughter”; “I want to see some violence.” Opponents are told “they get it.” Isn’t the risk never too much? “It’s a dangerous sport, you risk injury every time you go out,” says Porter, 26. He thinks top players are “in the best position” as their health and fitness needs are closely monitored – “but at the end of the day some things are inevitable in this sport and unfortunately some players may have to retire early due to injury and of course we have also seen concussions.” “The dangers are actually something I accept and it’s a game I love,” Porter says.
This love for the game seems deep enough for many players to overlook the potentially devastating consequences. According to Genge, rugby “definitely saved me from prison…[It] “He saved me from throwing my life away.” He will make his 59th appearance in England’s first Six Nations match against Italy on February 3; “I’ve struggled my whole life,” she says, perhaps giving her an extra shot of confidence to counteract imposter syndrome. The 28-year-old actress admits she “feels it all the time”[ing] the need to prove myself” saw him “go down the wrong path many times” while growing up in Bristol. [I] “He did things I can’t talk about, he chased that bad boy lifestyle” – including five arrests, “most” of which were on assault charges, during his academy contract at Leicester Tigers.
“The more you play, the more popular you feel, and therefore less like a fraud,” he says now (apparently he still struggles with compliments, instantly slapping mine on his suit with the words: “you should say that”) Being open about their arrest is entirely While struggling to fit into a sport dominated by people from a different wealth bracket and being left behind due to dyspraxia is “extremely uncomfortable at first”, “you eventually realize that’s part of it in a way” you; it’s something I try to stay away from so much now. “It’s nothing.” In fact, speaking out over the past 18 months “is not a calling, but it’s important to share these stories… I’ve seen the impact it has on people where I come from.”
Aside from the positive aspects, he says there can also be a “negative impact” on the person enduring it all. The messages players receive snowball (in his documentary, Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn says his inbox is just “old men telling me I am”) that both “lifts you up and pulls you down,” Genge admits. Smith agrees, having had a “terrible experience” with online comments in her first relationships. When she was 18, the praise was pouring in and “you get excited by all the praise, you probably let it get to you a little too much.” She scrolled through Twitter (now
He says he pays less attention to it now, relying on his support network in times of doubt. (He also credits them with helping him transition into adult life, which began with missing bills “left, right and centre.”) Smith says he and his peers are “in a privileged position as professional rugby players, and every day every action is either scrutinized or praised.” privilege? “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Porter says social media, as well as those new to the game, are changing the perception of masculinity. In the past, this had been hampered by “conventional thinking – you are a man, you have to deal with it”. You have to go about your business without telling anyone.” He adds that changing the outdated view of “what a man should be” remains “incredibly important.”
Porter lost her mother to breast cancer at the age of 12, and last year campaigned for better mental health awareness in schools (Genge also appeared in an advertising campaign about loss and self-care). “In a way, it wasn’t easy to be so open about some things,” she admits. “It took a while to try and really compromise [with it]“I’m also trying to put into words what I’m going through” – both “to a wider audience, even to people who know me”.
However, he thinks it makes sense for those involved in sports to use their platforms. Fans “looking up [players] thinks: ‘Oh, they sure have a great lifestyle…living their dream.’ But in reality, everyone has their own struggles… We are human too,” says Porter. Although he had to withdraw from the 2022 competition due to injury, “psychological warfare is almost the bulk of what you do when you are in a match. “If you’re not mentally tough in this sport, it can come back to bite you.”
The men are optimistic that change will continue for generations to come, both inside and outside the game. Genge has a three-year-old son named Ragh, and she hopes: “I will build a strong enough relationship with him that if he encounters any problems, he can come to me immediately and he can help me.” I don’t feel like I’m alone. Because I think being alone in these situations is when people struggle the most.”
Full Contact premieres on Netflix January 24