Cost of concussions revealed

Grayson Tihema - seen playing in a Wanganui rep trial in July - missed the start of the last club rugby season after being concussed in a sevens tournament in January

More than 100 sports-related concussions or brain injuries have been reported in Wanganui in the past three years.

And the cost of them to New Zealand's accident compensation scheme has been more than $30,000 from 2011 to 2013.

The biggest price tag came in 2012 at $16,441 which covered 37 claims. There were 38 claims in 2013 at a cost of $10,423.

About 90 rugby union or league concussion claims were made in the Wanganui-Manawatu region each year from 2011 to 2013. Nationally, there were more than 3000 annual sports-related concussion or brain injury ACC claims over the three year period.

In 2011 these claims cost $1.9 million. In 2012, they passed the $2 million mark to $2.148 million and in 2013 they dropped slightly to $2.09 million.

Wanganui Rugby Union chief executive Dale Cobb said the figures were not alarming as games were becoming faster and more physical. "Either it's evolution or we're becoming softer.

"In the past players would have shrugged it off and gone home and tried out their own magical medicines, but now there is a greater awareness of concussion, and a greater emphasis on taking precautionary measures."

Players understood if they wanted to continue in sport they needed to look after themselves long term, he said.

Wanganui High School's under-16 rugby team had only two players on the bench when they won the Manawatu Secondary Schools finals in August due to a number of players suffering concussion.

ACC spokeswoman Stephanie Melville said the increase in concussion-related injury claims could be attributed to the better reporting of injuries from improved awareness of sport-related concussion symptoms and the seriousness of head trauma.

"The culture whereby a player, being the hard stoic bloke that he was, would shrug off a hard knock to the head and dive into the next tackle is changing, and quite literally from the paddock up.

"The focus of coaches and players is now primarily on preventing injury or, in cases where a player is injured, getting the prompt medical assessment and treatment, and ensuring the right rehabilitation programme is in place if needed."

The number of moderate to serious injury claims had reduced by 15 per cent since ACC introduced injury prevention initiative RugbySmart in 2001, she said.

It provided coaches essential information about minimising injuries to players, and tested their knowledge of injury prevention.

The New Zealand Rugby Union has made it compulsory for all coaches and referees to attend annual RugbySmart workshops.