His legs have not worn him since February 17, 2010. A quadriplegic after a melee accident during a match near Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) between his team from Castelginest and Labarthe-sur-Lèze, Tony Moggio is now sharing his experience of a seriously injured rugby player. After a first work "Broken hooker", the ex-amateur sportsman published Friday "Accidents in rugby, my truth" (Privat). A book where he goes over ideas to reduce the number of serious injuries in his sport.
Why did you want to talk about the injured in rugby after having already told your accident?
TONY MOGGIO. After my first book, I received many messages from players who asked me if rugby had become a dangerous sport or from mothers who worried about their son. I said to myself: A great wounded man must give his truth . I wanted to make an inventory, to show that we do things to improve rugby, that we make it evolve.
Do you still want to look positive in a sport that made you quadriplegic?
I have never been disgusted by rugby. He took 80% of my body off, but I still love him. What hurts me is seeing seriously injured players, I know how they and their families can feel. It is sad to be severely disabled or to die because of your passion. This is why we have to look at what we can improve. Zero risk does not exist, but the goal is to see what we can work on.
What actions interest you?
We met William Servat and Thierry Savio in Toulouse. They developed a machine, the baby scrum, to see the intensity that a player is able to put in a scrum. With power sensors, you will see who needs to strengthen their muscles. The evolution of the rules, with the elimination of the melee impact, or even the lowering of the tackle line and the prohibition of tackles for two, is also going in the right direction. I will lie if I say there will be no more accidents, but serious things have been put in place. But there is also a need for greater awareness among practitioners.
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That is to say ?
Amateurs compare themselves to the pros by sending huge tackles, like on television. The problem is that the pros are very well trained, but not always. We make big tackles to do like on television. It takes serious preparation work, even at a low level. A player who comes to play after skipping most sessions of the week, he puts himself in danger.
Yes, but it is not always easy to impose extensive preparation in small clubs…
Well then, we don't play. You have to know what you want to do between finishing in a wheelchair or practicing your sport properly. We must educate amateur clubs and stop taking things lightly. Sometimes I see some players arrested three weeks back the following weekend to help out friends. That is no longer possible.
What do you say to parents who want to enroll their child in rugby?
I tell them to do it. However, they must be made aware of the risks. If we hide them to reassure people, that's how we don't take them into account and that we multiply dangerous situations.