Pads? What a pussy. I didn't wear no stinking pads playing rugby in college.
There were very few head injuries. Very few. Save for a stitch or five above the eye brow (most common), and no concussions.
There were some ankle and knee injuries but rarely anything uber serious. Nothing requiring surgery. We had two broken legs on our team over the four year period I played. Those were both cause by cleats sticking in the turf during big scrums and big dudes falling on the legs awkwardly.
Maybe, they need to play football pad-less.