BACKGROUND Scrummaging is unique to rugby union and involves 2 'packs' of 8 players competing to regain ball possession. Intending to serve as a quick and safe method to restart the game, injury prevalence during scrummaging necessitates further evaluation of this environment. AIMS The aim of this study was to determine the effect of scrummage engagement sequences on spinal kinematics of the ...

In the April 2015 issue of BJSM, Kirkwood et al drew attention to concussion in youth rugby, concluding with four recommendations, most of which are well founded. One would agree there is a lack of medical personnel at youth games, a need for increased awareness of concussion management and a requirement for generalised data collection. However, suggesting rugby alone should ‘never be compulsor...

The BokSmart National Rugby Safety Programme is a joint initiative between the South African Rugby Union and the Chris Burger/Petro Jackson Players Fund aimed at implementing evidencebased sports medicine and exercise research to prevent injury and enhance performance at all levels of rugby union in South Africa. The BokSmart programme has four main elements: Ø the BokSmart Rugby Safety Worksho...

The goals of World Rugby’s strategic plan, 2010 are to ‘Protect and promote Rugby, its values, spirit and ethos’ and to ‘Drive player welfare best practice’. These values are under question with the publication of misleading data on injury risks in its SportsWise Survey. In response to calls earlier this year to the UK government for a ban on tackle and contact in the school game, World Rugby h...

Rugby football continues to grow in popularity internation- ally and within the United States. In 1995, rugby union, one form of rugby, turned from amateur to professional through- out Europe, increasing the potential for monetary reward, which, in turn, secondary to higher levels of play, increased the risk of injury. With this increased higher interest and the increasing number of inexperienc...

OBJECTIVES To describe the current rugby playing status of a cohort of 1,169 men who had previously participated in an epidemiological survey of rugby injuries during the 1993-1994 season, and assess the consequences of rugby injuries sustained. METHODS In May 1998, 911 (78%) men completed a questionnaire reporting their current involvement in rugby and the influence that the 324 (71%) injuri...

Corresponding author: C T Viljoen ([email protected]) Rugby players are exposed to a higher risk of injury than participants in other sports, as players may legitimately be involved in collision incidents.[1] A recent review reported that head injuries, including concussions, are the most frequently reported injuries in professional rugby.[2] Concussion is defined as a ‘traumatically induced...

the aim of this study was to study the effects of two fitness training programs with long and short sets with the same intensity and volume on physical fitness and performance factors in rugby elite players. 27 rugby players from rugby club of khorasan razavi gas industrial cooperative (age 24.29+3.172 yr and height 182.22+5.652 cm) participated voluntarily and were divided randomly into three ...

This article reports on three pre- versus post-season prospective studies in which male university and high school contact sport players predominantly of Rugby Union (hereafter rugby) were compared with age, education, and IQ equivalent non-contact sport controls on the ImPACT (Immediate Postconcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) test. All analyses revealed a relative absence of practice ...

OBJECTIVES This study set out to pursue means of reducing mismatch in schoolboy rugby players. The primary objective was to determine whether application of previously reported thresholds of height and grip strength could be used to distinguish those 15-year-old boys appropriate to play under-18 school rugby from their peers. A secondary objective was to obtain normative data for height, weight...