Tackle gone wrong almost tears off penis of Aussie rugby league player

Rugby is a contact sports that involve body slams and grabbing of any body part just to get hold of the rubgy ball. Unfortunately for 23-year-old Haydn Peacock, a player of AS Carcassonne, a competitor from St Esteve Catalans Dragons held tightly to his crotch to grab the ball that the Australia-born athlete was holding.

Peacock, a second rower, took the ball off the scrum during a game in February at the French Federation of Rugby League Elite 1 match and made a half-break. The centre from St Esteve came across from the inside and reached out in a last-ditch effort.

The centre “got a hold of my [penis] with one hand and pulled me down,” recounts Peacock to journalist and former rugby player Guy Willias who posted the painful incident to his blog. It was not a case of the centre touching his crotch and exposing his family jewels as what happens in some games.

The centre unintentionally ripped Peacock’s penis off. Although he continued to play until half-time, Peacock – who plays for Ireland – checked his private part and discovered the skin of his genital was ripped off. He was rushed to the hospital where the ripped skin was sewn back with 11 stitches.

He admits it is the first time he has heard of any player in his entire career requiring 11 stitches on the penis because of a sports injury. For his next game, Peacock had to use a strap on his private part, but he refused to wear a cup which the coach suggested.

“I now got the stitches out and it’s all sweet. No dramas,” quotes The Telegraph. In his Facebook post on Monday, Peacock writes, “Can’t believe how much this story has blown up. Glad that my misfortune has provided a few people with a good laugh.”

He adds, “The irony that may last name is peacock is not lost on me.” For the uninitiated, cock is a slang term for the penis, while the peacock is a bird, another slang reference to the male genital, which displays its beautiful back feathers.

The spate of sports accidents has prompted doctors and health experts to seek a ban on contact rugby in British schools. They point out, in an open letter to the government, school children are at risk of suffering spinal, head and other physical injuries that have life-long impact and could even be fatal to the students.