Fergus McFadden recovering from his Bath knock-out

One of rugby’s windfalls has been that with the increased power being transferred around the pitch from body to body, the game’s idea of manliness has been redefined.

Stadiums garnished with cameras have ensured that stamping, punching and gouging have all but disappeared at elite level. But legitimate assaults by player on player have become part of the game’s talking points, a crowd pleasing thrill.

The consensus was that Peter Stringer drew the loudest cheer of the day when he came off the Bath bench last Saturday. But Fergus McFadden's ferocious tackle on Anthony Watson that stopped him dead just before half-time might have matched it.

Within minutes of McFadden's hit on Watson, the Leinster winger was himself a casualty of the game. Running right, he sharply turned left as Kyle Eastmond rotated his body to make the tackle.

McFadden’s jaw connected with Eastmond’s right shoulder and the Leinster right wing fell to the ground out cold. He will probably not play this weekend against the Dragons.

There has been much controversy in the game as rugby wrestles with the new and nuanced concept of head injury. But McFadden's knock-out has illustrated that players are now getting it. As soon as he fell Bath winger Matt Banahan was immediately over indicating to officials that a player had suffered a head injury.

Respect

“The respect levels went up massively when I looked back at the footage and saw him do that to be honest,” says McFadden. “It was such a big game you can get lost a bit in the atmosphere. Your adrenaline is pumping. Sometimes in a certain scenario some guys could almost applaud it but he tried to stop the game as quickly as possible.

"Maybe people are a small bit aware of it now after what's happened with the likes of George North. You break an arm on the field and you play on. All well and good. You can go away and get an operation. If something happens to someone's head it's not very curable. It's good that guys are aware of it."

For now this weekend looks too soon to play again and while the medics will have the final say as McFadden is taken through a staged series of return-to-play protocols, the contrasting images of his unconscious body at the Aviva Stadium and running out against Dragons, would at best make poor viewing.

“Yeah I was out cold,” he says. “He caught me flush on the jaw with his shoulder. Thankfully, I got up and was able to walk off the field. I came to in the next 10-15 minutes.

“Kyle Eastmond is quite small . . . technically it was a high hit but I was ducking into him as well. In fairness to him there was no malice in it.

“Looking back in the footage he came back up to me to make sure I was okay. It was one of those unfortunate things. Pity for me I had to go off so early. I’ve a few boxes to tick if I’m going to come into consideration for this weekend. We’ll see how the week pans out for me.”

Fine line

McFadden understands that heavy tackling is an attraction. But the line is a fine one. Spectators enjoy the extreme physical side of the game as there is a side of it that is entertainment. But they stop short at players putting their health at risk.

“I don’t think anyone out there, unless they are going to a UFC match, wants to see someone getting knocked out on a rugby pitch,” he says. “That is not enjoyable for anyone. You could see that even the Bath guys were distressed when that happened to me.

“Spectators are paying money and going to the game . . . it is a physical game and the collisions win rugby matches these days. So legitimate hits that are inside the rule book, people want to see them 100 per cent.”

It’s the first time that the 28-year-old has been knocked out in a match and there’s some irony that he’s talking at the launch of Bank of Ireland’s Leinster Rugby summer camps. How to present at tackles and at collisions might be high on the agenda for young players to learn.

“I suppose sometimes in those scenarios you’re thinking ‘ah stay on you’ll be fine.’ And then another knock and you can be twice as bad. Thankfully the medics were on me straight away.

“Everyone realised I had to be taken off for my own safety.”