Ryan Caldwell

[Dave]

Common law principle ‘Volenti no fit injuria’. This translates roughly as ‘to a willing person injury is not done’. The term ‘voluntary assumption of risk’ is also used to describe this principle.

Essentially what this means is that when you step onto a rugby field you voluntarily take on the risk that things will happen that occur in games of rugby.

This does not mean that there is nothing that happens during a game of rugby that couldn't be charged as an assault. It really needs to be something that is reasonably foreseeable in the context of a game of rugby. Being punched is definitely foreseeable, to the extent any decent legal person would argue that particular scales of punishment are set out within the laws of the game for players who punch another player.

This is not to say that a player punching another could never be charged with assault. Again it could come down to whether the injured party wanted to press charges.

I think in the context of that particular incident, i.e. a non contact training session, POC might have been on shakier ground if things had gone badly wrong.

I'm even not sure if a punch is "foreseeable" in the modern pro game. When is the last time you saw somebody land one on somebody's jaw?

Things did go fairly badly wrong not only physically but psychologically. FIRFU covered it up.

Plenty have been charged with on pitch assaults. However as, said, charges must be pressed.

[StandUp]

I’d have to disagree with much of No9’s analysis, if my understand is correct.

Civil claims of this nature tend to fail because the duty of care hasn’t been breached (eg if a tackle is a bit late or high) and not because the duty has been breached but the injured party has consented to the risk of injury.

Further, a court won’t allow consent to negate liability for an act which breaches both the rules and culture of a game and I think rugby has now come far enough for us to say that the act of punching would constitute that.

Correct, well put Justin.

[UlsterNo9]

I’d have to disagree with much of No9’s analysis, if my understand is correct.

Civil claims of this nature tend to fail because the duty of care hasn’t been breached (eg if a tackle is a bit late or high) and not because the duty has been breached but the injured party has consented to the risk of injury.

Further, a court won’t allow consent to negate liability for a negligent act which breaches both the rules and culture of a game and I think rugby has now come far enough for us to say that the act of punching would constitute that.

It's not my analysis, it's the precedent. Volenti no fit injuria is not a magic bullet for the assailant. There have been plenty of incidences were there have been assault convictions also, and rightly so. Merv makes a good point in the context of the modern game and punching.

Where do we stand on jail sentences for dangerous driving in motor sport?

[Dave]

I’d have to disagree with much of No9’s analysis, if my understand is correct.

Civil claims of this nature tend to fail because the duty of care hasn’t been breached (eg if a tackle is a bit late or high) and not because the duty has been breached but the injured party has consented to the risk of injury.

Further, a court won’t allow consent to negate liability for a negligent act which breaches both the rules and culture of a game and I think rugby has now come far enough for us to say that the act of punching would constitute that.

It's not my analysis, it's the precedent. Volenti no fit injuria is not a magic bullet for the assailant. There have been plenty of incidences were there have been assault convictions also, and rightly so. Merv makes a good point in the context of the modern game and punching.

Where do we stand on jail sentences for dangerous driving in motor sport?

Bin motorsport, imo.

[Dave]

Anyone commenting on here should reasonably expect baggy to shoot you in the face.

[StandUp]

The phrase is violenti NON fit injuria.
Just because a person is partaking in sport does not automatically grant consent to this type of assault.

Essentials of Volenti Non-Fit Injuria: The Risk must be known to the Plaintiff: When the plaintiff has the knowledge that the act is going to cause harm or loss and in spite of that accepts to do it, agreeing to suffer the injury, then the defendant will not be liable for such an act.

I very much suspect Caldwell did not know the assault was going to happen. Therefore violenti NON fit injuria does not apply.

[UlsterNo9]

It would be interesting how it would fair if it went to court. It was a non contact session, therefore the act of Caldwell physically knocking O'Connell to the ground is assault? playing devils advocate Caldwell initated the fracas and Connell lashed back in self defence. Caldwell being the aggressor.

Did a google and O'Connell is on record as saying
"He'd been spoiling rucks all week, making a nuisance of himself. That was all fair enough - he was like me at the same age - but when he put me on the floor with a tackle in a non-contact session my went and I got up and threw a punch."

Does injuria cover Caldwells act?

[StandUp]

It would be interesting how it would fair if it went to court. It was a non contact session, therefore the act of Caldwell physically knocking O'Connell to the ground is assault? playing devils advocate Caldwell initated the fracas and Connell lashed back in self defence. Caldwell being the aggressor.

Did a google and O'Connell is on record as saying
"He'd been spoiling rucks all week, making a nuisance of himself. That was all fair enough - he was like me at the same age - but when he put me on the floor with a tackle in a non-contact session my went and I got up and threw a punch."

Does injuria cover Caldwells act?

I strongly suspect a court would see a gaping chasm between knocking someone to the ground in a non contact training session and literally almost killing someone. If Caldwell had died, the cowardly tough guy would almost certainly have faced a manslaughter charge.

[solidarity]

Saddest paragraph in the article is:

'From a young age, Caldwell had no time in his life for anything apart from rugby. He describes his mindset at the time as “laser precision”. He was a schoolboy star at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, captaining Inst and winning the Ulster Schools’ Cup in 2003. He told his first rugby coach at primary school that he was going to play for Ireland and nothing was going to stop him. He didn’t have a girlfriend at school, he couldn’t deal with any distractions. His schoolmates were talking about universities and parties while he was memorising lineout calls and watching tapes of the opposition.

“Looking back now, at the time, rugby at school while growing up was so intense. It was like a professional set-up. When I look back it was some of the hardest training I ever did. You’re seen as the rugby guy, and you were given this blazer for the 1st XV. You’re in this absolute bubble and people are all looking at you.'

Will we ever get back to schools rugby as something that kids PLAY, not something at which they WORK?

[StandUp]

Saddest paragraph in the article is:

'From a young age, Caldwell had no time in his life for anything apart from rugby. He describes his mindset at the time as “laser precision”. He was a schoolboy star at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, captaining Inst and winning the Ulster Schools’ Cup in 2003. He told his first rugby coach at primary school that he was going to play for Ireland and nothing was going to stop him. He didn’t have a girlfriend at school, he couldn’t deal with any distractions. His schoolmates were talking about universities and parties while he was memorising lineout calls and watching tapes of the opposition.

“Looking back now, at the time, rugby at school while growing up was so intense. It was like a professional set-up. When I look back it was some of the hardest training I ever did. You’re seen as the rugby guy, and you were given this blazer for the 1st XV. You’re in this absolute bubble and people are all looking at you.'

Will we ever get back to schools rugby as something that kids PLAY, not something at which they WORK?

I very much doubt it. The big schools are a business and the Schools Cup is a great advert for their business.
My son plays for one of them and while he loves his rugby, he is more even keeled than it appears Ryan was at that age. He loves it because the coaches, while serious about rugby, also want the kids to enjoy it. Perhaps not all schools have that mindset.
You are absolutely correct in saying the kids must work at it because I hear some horror stories about the pressure kids face in relation to the schools cup. From coaches AND parents, at a time when they are facing unbelievable pressure re. their A levels.
These parents should be dealt a very hefty kick in the groin for this. I wouldn’t care if my son never played again. It is and always has been his choice.
I hope that in revealing his story, Ryan not only feels some catharsis from this, but also helps another kid to see that in the big scheme of things, the schools cup doesn’t mean sh!t.
As an aside, I hope Henshaw is cited for his shoulder to Jacobs face in the opening minutes. The TMO should have seen it but the imbecile MacNiece has never been much of a friend to Ulster.

[UlsterNo9]

Saddest paragraph in the article is:

'From a young age, Caldwell had no time in his life for anything apart from rugby. He describes his mindset at the time as “laser precision”. He was a schoolboy star at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, captaining Inst and winning the Ulster Schools’ Cup in 2003. He told his first rugby coach at primary school that he was going to play for Ireland and nothing was going to stop him. He didn’t have a girlfriend at school, he couldn’t deal with any distractions. His schoolmates were talking about universities and parties while he was memorising lineout calls and watching tapes of the opposition.

“Looking back now, at the time, rugby at school while growing up was so intense. It was like a professional set-up. When I look back it was some of the hardest training I ever did. You’re seen as the rugby guy, and you were given this blazer for the 1st XV. You’re in this absolute bubble and people are all looking at you.'

Will we ever get back to schools rugby as something that kids PLAY, not something at which they WORK?

Just as sad is that he is far from alone, could argue professionalism will mean it won't.

I know of two guys ex Ulster professionals around 60 - 70 caps wouldn't darken Ravenhills door, no reflection on their time at Ulster, but would both identify with exactly what Caldwell said in that paragraph and in some way feel a bit of a failure they didn't make it right to the very top. If we were all a cap behind them we'd be delighted, it's not how they see it.

[StandUp]

Perhaps there are driven personalities like that in every profession who need to excel.
If that’s the case, I’m happy to be a failure.