World Rugby are failing to protect players from dangerous tackles at all levels of the game, according to the father of an 18-year-old killed last December.
Stade Francais academy prospect Nicolas Chauvin died after playing the sport he loved in December 2018, the victim of a horrific accident while playing for the French side.
Chauvin died after being hit by two players in a tackle, leaving him with a fractured cervical vertebra, also suffering from brain damage and a heart attack as a result.
The injuries sustained saw the 18-year-old die three days after the accident.
This year's Rugby World Cup in Japan has seen harsh enforcement of tackles, resulting in a total of 23 cards with one round of pool play left - the most in a single tournament. Eight players have also been handed bans by the World Rugby judiciary in an effort to eliminate dangerous tackles.
In an interview with the Guardian though, Chauvin's father Phillipe insists that not enough is being done to prevent further tragedies in the game.
"Rugby is not a game of destruction, we must not play to wipe out an opponent," he said. "The spirit of the game is to keep the ball alive, not to kill your opposite number.

"A federation has an obligation to ensure the safety of its practitioners. I do not believe that a shoulder shot to the head launched at 20 km/h preserves safety. I just want someone to explain to me why the security of a player could not be assured and if and where mistakes were made.
Chauvin senior is also pleading with the game's governing body to take further action to eradicate dangerous tackles from rugby.
"I have discovered that some within the sport are not prepared to face the reality of fatal accidents," he told The Guardian.
"We must stop looking for excuses when an offence is committed. Rugby is a beautiful sport in terms of its values and shared commitment but if the game is not controlled and safety is not assured, young people will go to another sport.
"It should not be a sport for bullies or brutes but a sport of possibilities, in which teams have to combine strength, speed, agility, intelligence and will."
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has also given his take on the current situation, again emphasising that those at the professional level have a responsibility to get it right.
"There's still a lot of people getting concussed who are actually making the tackle as opposed to the ball carrier, so we are in a pattern of trying to fix a problem," he told media yesterday .
"Have we got it 100% right? No. But it is what they've asked us to do and as keepers of the game, players and coaches, we've got a responsibility to try to respond to that and do the best we can."
Chauvin also told the Guardian that he intends to take legal action against the French Rugby Federation, levelling charges of manslaughter over his son's death.
"I feel it is also my duty to Nicolas to do everything so that the facts and responsibilities are established.
"By filing a complaint, I will have access to the file. There may be things that I do not know or positions that are not the ones I was told."




















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