The Incidence of Injury in Amateur Male Rugby Union: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background Rugby union is a physically demanding, fullcontact team sport that has gained worldwide popularity. The incidence of injury in rugby union has been widely reported in the literature. While comprehensive injury surveillance and prevention programmes have been implemented within the professional game, there is a need for similar strategies in the amateur game. Despite recent increases in the volume of research in rugby, there is little consensus regarding the true incidence rate of match and training injuries in senior amateur male rugby union players. Objective The aim of the current review was to systematically review the available evidence on the epidemiology of time-loss injuries in senior amateur male rugby union players and to subsequently conduct a meta-analysis of the findings. Methods A comprehensive search of the PubMed, Scopus, SportDiscus and Google Scholar electronic databases was performed using the following keywords; ('rugby' OR 'rugby union') AND ('amateur' OR 'community') AND ('injur*' OR 'pain*'). Six articles regarding the incidence of injury in senior amateur male rugby union players, in both matches and training, were retrieved and included in the meta-analysis to determine the overall incidence rate of match injury, with descriptive analyses also provided for other reported variables. Results The overall incidence rate of match injuries within senior amateur rugby union players was 46.8/1000 player hours [95% confidence interval (CI) 34.4-59.2]. Contact events accounted for the majority of injuries, with the tackler more at risk than the player being tackled, and with respective incidence rates of 15.9/1000 player hours (95% CI 12.4-19.5) and 12.2/1000 player hours (95% CI 9.3-15.1). Conclusion This meta-analysis found that the incidence rate of injury in amateur rugby union players was lower than that in professional players, but higher than the incidences reported in adolescent and youth rugby players. By understanding the true incidence and nature of injuries in rugby, injury prevention strategies can best be implemented. Future prevention strategies may best be aimed towards the tackle area, specifically to the tackler, in order to minimize injury risk. 2. The incidence rate of injury in senior male amateur rugby union players appears to be lower than that in professional players, but higher than the incidences reported in adolescent and youth rugby players.3.

Lay of the land: narrative synthesis of tackle research in rugby union and rugby sevens

“…The majority of injuries in these rugby codes, at all levels, occur during the contact events: the tackle, ruck, maul, line-out and scrums. [1][2][3][4] The tackle is the contact event that has the highest injury incidence (injuries per 1000 player-hours), while the ruck and scrum have the second and third highest injury incidences, respectively. [1][2][3][4] Also, while the majority of spinal cord injuries occur in the scrum, the tackle has the highest incidence for the most severe injuries.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] The tackle is the contact event that has the highest injury incidence (injuries per 1000 player-hours), while the ruck and scrum have the second and third highest injury incidences, respectively. [1][2][3][4] Also, while the majority of spinal cord injuries occur in the scrum, the tackle has the highest incidence for the most severe injuries. 5 During the tackle, both the player in possession of the ball (ball carrier) and the player(s) attempting to contest the ball and territory (tacklers) are at risk of injury, [6][7][8][9] although the mechanisms of injury may differ.…”

“…However, these studies have not been consolidated to determine the state of tackle-related research at each stage for both injury prevention and performance. For instance, while systematic reviews on injury rates in rugby union and rugby sevens have been published [1][2][3][4] to address stage 1 of injury prevention models, and despite knowing the high incidence of tackle injury, no review to date has synthesised tackle injury frequencies and rates by playing levels and competition, and by role (ball carrier or tackler). Therefore, using the first three stages of the TRIPP model 13 as a guide, the purpose of this review was to consolidate both injury prevention and performance tackle-related research.…”

Evaluating the Implementation of Injury Prevention Strategies in Rugby Union and League: A Systematic Review using the RE-AIM Framework

“…A meta-analysis of time-loss match injuries in professional men's rugby union reported an injury incidence rate of 81 per 1000 player-hours (/1000 h) [5]. In men's community rugby union, the inci-dence is estimated at 43/1000 h [6], with similar rates in rugby league [7]. In the 2010 women's Rugby World Cup, there was an injury incidence rate of 36/1000 h [8], whilst a systematic review of studies in youth rugby union and league had a pooled injury incidence of 27/1000 h [9].…”

Incidence, Severity, and Burden of Ankle Sprain in Male Collegiate Rugby Union

“…Previous studies have estimated that approximately 25% of sports injuries are ankle injuries (Fong et al, 2007). Even in rugby, which has a higher risk of injury than other sports, the ankle joint is cited as one of the sites with a high incidence of injury (Kaux et al, 2015;Yeomans et al, 2018). It was also reported that 17.5% of all injuries sustained by Japanese collegiate rugby players affected the ankle joint (Ogaki et al, 2020).…”