Stand by this weekend for another huge collision between New Zealand and England. Note the deliberate use of the word “collision”. Every modern Test demands such shuddering levels of commitment that “game” feels inadequate. Eden Park will be no place for pacifists and none of the gladiators in black or white will be considering the possible longer-term effects of their brutal trade.
Just over two miles across town at the University of Auckland, however, they are busy doing it for them. “The dream for a neuroscientist is that people hold on to their faculties for the entirety of their lives,” says Maurice Curtis, professor of neuroscience and deputy director of New Zealand’s Human Brain Bank, which is researching the effects of head impacts in sport. “We want their brain health to be optimised every step of the way.”
