No, it’s not because they play Steve Hofmeyr’s Die Blou Bulle weet nie van veloor af nie before, during, and after matches, although that should come with a stiff penalty.

Sorry to have brought that up, because it’s probably rattling around your skull right now, but let’s move swiftly along to the legal battle between the Bulls rugby union and former prop Morne Mellett.

Here’s Sport24:

[He is] suing the union, and team doctor Herman Rossouw, for a reported R45 million.

Mellett was forced into early retirement when he injured his neck in a 2015 Super Rugby clash against the Kings…

According to Mellett [below], he was examined by Rossouw on the field, with the doctor clearing him to keep playing the match. What followed, though, was a life-threatening injury.

The hit to the right side of Mellett’s neck caused a rupture to the vertebral vein responsible for supplying blood to the brain, a medical report says.

Mellett still has a blood clot in his head, which the report adds could move to his brain at any time.

To his credit, he didn’t roll around like Neymar, but you won’t find a rugby player in the world who does.

The same medical report adds that Mellett suffered a stroke just moments after the final whistle, and the injuries he suffered continue to have an adverse effect on his quality of life:

“Immediately after the game, Mellett was off balance, couldn’t feel his fingers and was unable to describe to doctors what (was) wrong. A few hours after the game, he suffered a stroke,” the court document said.

Mellett’s lawyer, Jan Lamprecht, also spoke.

“His dream to play rugby was taken away in an instant and now he has to walk around with the knowledge that he can die at any moment because of the blood clot,” he said.

The Bulls union aren’t going down without a fight, saying they will contest the case.

It will be very interesting to see how this one plays out, given that it could set quite a precedent for the way that team doctors handle sporting injuries going forward.

We know that the NFL is facing a billion-dollar lawsuit regarding their lax approach to dealing with concussion amongst its players, so perhaps rugby unions and their team doctors best err on the side of caution going forward.

[source:sport24]