The Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association (IRUPA) has conducted a snap survey with all of its members to gauge collective opinion on the issue of banning the contact area in schools rugby.

The survey was conducted in light of a group of English medics recently pushing to eliminate tackling from the game at schools level.

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In an open letter, the group of doctors and health experts described rugby as a "high-impact collision sport" and said it exposed children to a high risk of injury.

"As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UK and Irish governments should ensure the safety of rugby, by removing the contact from the children's game in schools," they wrote.

99% of IRUPA members who responded to the survey voted in favour of retaining the tackle with only 1% supporting the proposed ban.

”It is interesting yet not surprising that our members are so adamant about maintaining the laws of the game to all extents possible and thus keeping the very fabric of the game intact,” said Omar Hassanein. Chief Executive of IRUPA.

“This is not to suggest that our members aren’t all aware of the inherent risks in kids playing a contact sport, however we need to be careful not to tamper with the sport that we all love so much to such a degree that the next generation lose all interest in playing.”

IRUPA also asked its members whether they would they allow their own children to play rugby now and into the future. Once again the group voted fairly unanimously, this time with 97% of respondents stating that they would be supportive of encouraging their children to play the sport.

“Rugby is a contact sport and there will always be risks associated with playing the game,” said Irish international Peter O’Mahony, who is a Director of IRUPA. “However looking back to when I was a young boy growing up in Cork and learning the game, I realise that rugby taught me so many life skills that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

“A restriction in the contact area at junior level would take away from the very essence of the game and for this reason it is not a position that myself or the majority of the IRUPA membership would be in support of.”