Yesterday on the Right Hook, Dr Barry O'Driscoll, who has long tried to raise awareness of the concussion issue in rugby, warned that parents should be acutely aware of the threat to their rugby-playing children.

Now researchers have recommended that 17-year-olds should not be allowed to play in the front row during adult matches.

The Scottish Rugby/Scottish Committee for Orthopaedics and Trauma (SCOT) group carried out a study which found that 17-year-olds should be barred from playing in adult matches because it is unsafe.

"Our results showed that although under-18 players were as strong as the adults in general they were unable to generate the same neck muscle force as adult players. It is likely that weak necks are a risk factor for the scrum collapsing – an event associated with serious neck injury risk. To ensure the safety of all six front row players, it is essential that they are all strong enough to compete safely," said Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamish Simpson.

In the study, only two U18 players recorded the same neck strength as the average adult player and it is recommended that players undergo a series of tests on their necks before being given permission to line out in senior matches.