Former Scotland star Gavin Hastings has said that serious injuries in rugby are becoming less common as players are fitter than they used to be.
His comments followed the neck injury sustained by Scotland wing Thom Evans in Saturday's match against Wales which led to him requiring emergency surgery in hospital.
The 24-year-old Glasgow player was carried off following a sickening first-half collision with Lee Byrne.
Scotland team doctor James Robson said that Evans was "moving his arms and legs".
Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme, Hastings said: "Given the media profile that rugby now enjoys, these sort of injuries are more prominent in terms of the media.
"Everyone knows the physicality of rugby is very much apparent.
"But certainly at the highest level the players' fitness levels are so fantastic now that these injuries I think are not possibly quite as common as they have been.
"It's just the profile is much higher when someone like Thom does get injured."
Hastings views were echoed by former England coach Sir Clive Woodward, who said: "My heart goes out to young Thom Evans.
"It's a tough sport, I still think you look at rugby and see how much rugby is played by so many thousands and thousands of people.
"It's never acceptable to get injuries in any situation but they do come and if it happens to high-profile players in high-profile games as happened with young Thom Evans it gets a lot of publicity.
"But I think generally it's a safe game still." Phil Bennett, the former Wales fly-half, welcomed the medical bulletin from the Scotland camp.
"Thom Evans had played very, very well. He crashed into the Wales defenders, (there was) nothing sinister about the tackle," Bennett said.
"We all prayed as Welshmen and Scotsmen as he went off that Thom would be okay. Thank goodness this morning he's moving his arms and legs."
Scotland full-back Chris Paterson, who won his 100th cap yesterday, was also detained overnight at the same hospital after suffering damage to his right kidney.
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