‘Tackling’ rugby safety through a collective approach

Hendricks, Sharief; Emery, Carolyn A.; Jones, Ben; Brown, James; Dane, Kathryn; West, Stephen W; Stokes, Keith; Gray, Richie; Tucker, Ross

doi:10.1136/bjsports-2023-107020

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…While all actors present in a network have degree centrality, not all actors lie between other actors, and hence, not all have betweenness centrality. In 2016, the UCT (17,18) is the node with the highest betweenness centrality; in 2017, the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) (12,68) and UCT (11,1) have high betweenness centrality; in 2018, the UCT (10,63) and the University of Canberra (8,9) have high betweenness centrality; in 2019, the University College London (UCL) (6,290) and SU (5,96) have high betweenness centrality; in 2020, LBU (8,509), University of New England (UNen) (7,99) and RFU (7,15) have high betweenness centrality; in 2021, RFU (15,39), Birmingham City University (13,55) and AUT (11,4) have high betweenness centrality; and in 2022, LBU (13,5) and AUT (10) have high betweenness centrality. The betweenness centrality values for all organisations between 2016 and 2022 are shown in online supplemental appendix 6.…”

Section: Degree and Betweenness Centralitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…18 That is, rugby union stakeholders have a major interest in preventing and managing injury, while also improving player performance. [38][39][40] As this paper is part of a larger project, it will be complemented by a subsequent study that will include comprehensive content analysis, identifying the primary research domains of interest within rugby union.…”

Section: Scientific Output and Collaboration Increased Over Timementioning

confidence: 99%

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Innovation in sport medicine and science: a global social network analysis of stakeholder collaboration in rugby union

Erskine,

Hendricks,

Jones

et al. 2024

BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med

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ObjectivesTo investigate the network of stakeholders involved in rugby union research across the globe.MethodsUsing author affiliations listed on scientific publications, we identified the organisations that contributed to rugby union research from 1977 to 2022 and examine collaboration through coauthorship indicators. We determined the locations and sectors of identified organisations and constructed a collaboration network. Network metrics, including degree centrality and betweenness centrality, are computed to identify influential organisations and measure intersector collaboration.ResultsThere is an increase in scientific knowledge creation and collaboration between organisations for rugby union research over time. Among the sectors, the university, professional sports team and sports governing body sectors exhibit the highest intersectoral and intrasectoral density. Predominantly, influential actors are located in England, Australia, France, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa. Australian Catholic University, Leeds Beckett University, Stellenbosch University, Swansea University, University College London and the University of Cape Town emerge as influential actors between 2016 and 2022.ConclusionsOur study underscores the ongoing growth of scientific knowledge generation in rugby union, primarily led by organisations in tier 1 rugby-playing nations within the university sector. Intersectoral collaboration with sports governing bodies plays a crucial role, acting as a broker between sectors. However, the overall collaboration landscape between and within sectors is low. These results highlight an opportunity for improved collaboration opportunities, as the organisations driving knowledge creation have been identified.

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Section: Degree and Betweenness Centralitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scientific Output and Collaboration Increased Over Timementioning

confidence: 99%

Innovation in sport medicine and science: a global social network analysis of stakeholder collaboration in rugby union

Erskine,

Hendricks,

Jones

et al. 2024

BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…From a socio-ecological perspective, how an injury prevention initiative is perceived by the sport's stakeholders (eg, players, coaches, referees, spectators) drives the social environment and culture around it. [10][11][12][13][14] An injury prevention initiative negatively perceived by its stakeholders may reduce player, coach and referee adoption and compliance, ultimately reducing its effectiveness. To date, player and rugby stakeholder attitudes and perceptions of injury prevention initiatives have only been studied using traditional questionnaires and qualitative interviews.…”

Section: How This Study Might Affect Research Practice or Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

X as a proxy for tackle safety culture? Sentiment analysis of social media posts on red-carded and yellow-carded tackles during the 2019 Rugby World Cup

Alexander,

Tucker,

Jones

et al. 2023

BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med

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ObjectivesThis study analysed the overall sentiment of attitudes, opinions, views and emotions expressed in posts on X related to red-carded and yellow-carded tackles during the 2019 Rugby World Cup (RWC).MethodsSentiment analysis was conducted on posts on X about red or yellow cards issued at the 2019 RWC. Posts were classified as ‘agree’, ‘disagree’ and ‘neutral’. The frequency of posts, red cards, yellow cards, all injuries, tackle injuries and total number of tackles per match were also synced to the 45-match playing schedule.ResultsFive tackle-related red cards were issued during the 2019 RWC, and 15 tackle-related yellow cards, with 337 and 302 posts identified for each card decision, respectively. For red cards, 42% of posts (n=158/377) agreed with the referee’s decision, 19% (n=71/377) disagreed and 40% were neutral. For yellow cards, 24% (n=73/302) agreed with the referee’s decision, 33% (n=99/302) disagreed and 43% were neutral.ConclusionsFor red cards, posts were 2.2 times more likely to agree with the referee’s decision than disagree. Posts that agreed with a red card decision were also more likely to be shared (reposted) than posts that disagreed with a red card decision. In contrast, sentiments expressed for yellow card decisions were mixed. This may be related to interpreting the degree of danger and whether mitigation is applied. Within the ecosystem of rugby, sharing sentiments on social media plays a powerful role in creating a positive player welfare narrative.

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“…Collision sport athletes are at an increased risk of head injuries (Gardner et al, 2014(Gardner et al, , 2015West et al, 2021) with concussion incidence ranging from 15.5 to 20.9 per 1000 match-hours in men's rugby league and union (Eastwood et al, 2023;West et al, 2021) and 2.8-10.3 concussions per 1000 match-hours in women's rugby league and union (King et al, 2022;Starling et al, 2023). Governing bodies are proactively trying to reduce both concussion and head acceleration events (HAEs) (Eliason et al, 2023;Hendricks et al, 2023). HAEs occur from both direct (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quantifying the frequency, magnitude and mechanisms of HAEs can inform player welfare initiatives. Furthermore, evaluating interventions aimed at reducing HAEs can determine the success of player welfare initiatives (Jones et al, 2022;Tierney, 2021) both at a policy and practice level (Hendricks et al, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Embracing the impact from instrumented mouthguards (iMGs): A survey of iMG managers' perceptions of staff and player interest into the technology, data and barriers to use

Roe,

Whitehead,

Starling

et al. 2024

European Journal of Sport Science

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Instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) are a novel technology being used within rugby to quantify head acceleration events. Understanding practitioners' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to their use is important to support implementation and adoption. This study assessed men's and women's rugby union and league iMG managers' perceptions of staff and player interest in the technology, data and barriers to use. Forty‐six iMG managers (men's rugby union and league n = 20 and n = 9 and women's rugby union and league n = 7 and n = 10) completed an 18‐question survey. Perceived interest in data varied across staff roles with medical staff being reported as having the most interest. The iMG devices were perceived as easy to use but uncomfortable. Several uses of data were identified, including medical applications, player monitoring and player welfare. The comfort, size and fit of the iMG were reported as the major barriers to player use. Time constraints and a lack of understanding of data were barriers to engagement with the data. Continued education on how iMG data can be used is required to increase player and staff buy‐in, alongside improving comfort of the devices. Studies undertaken with iMGs investigating player performance and welfare outcomes will make data more useful and increase engagement.

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‘Tackling’ rugby safety through a collective approach

Cited by 17 publications

References 12 publications

Innovation in sport medicine and science: a global social network analysis of stakeholder collaboration in rugby union

Innovation in sport medicine and science: a global social network analysis of stakeholder collaboration in rugby union

X as a proxy for tackle safety culture? Sentiment analysis of social media posts on red-carded and yellow-carded tackles during the 2019 Rugby World Cup

Embracing the impact from instrumented mouthguards (iMGs): A survey of iMG managers' perceptions of staff and player interest into the technology, data and barriers to use

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