The increasing amount of injuries in Rugby

Rugby is a highly contact game and with this brings a powerful entertaining sport but also a high risk of injury. Across all levels of the sport injury is a major concern and regularly creates debate of how it is affecting the game and its players. In this article I'm going to discuss this and how the issue could be improved for the good of rugby and its players.

Rugby players are putting them selves at risk of injury every time they step on the rugby field, we all know this. It is reported that the injury rate of rugby players is roughly three times higher than football. The discussion is, should as many injuries be occurring and is there anything we can do to reduce them?

A report revealed that in 2006/2007 season that 33 per cent of contracted Premiership professional players were at any given time out injured. Similar research was carried out in British Columbia and it concluded that as many as 1 in 4 players globally will be injured at some point in a single season.  Some of these injuries may be minor bumps and alike but the majority were serious enough to keep players out for multiple months. The reports revealed that certain positions were more at risk of injury. These are some of the statistics of what a rugby player is put through.

A player playing in the forwards will be subject to 300 impacts per match and 120 for backs. 70 of these collisions have a G-Force larger than 8G (8 times greater than the force of gravity).

Forwards are involved in more tackles and with the additional impact area of the scrum front row players especially add to the threat of injury. The scrum and how it is played is a whole other discussion which we have covered The future of the Rugby Scrum

The largest impacts are generally in the midfield which affects the large ball carriers and puts back row and centres at the highest risk. This is backed up as half of all injuries take place in the tackle area.

Over 40% of injuries are muscular strains or contusions (bruising), 30% are sprains, followed by dislocations, fractures, lacerations, and overuse injuries. Sprained and strained ankles are a common injury with ankle sprains representing almost 1 in 7 rugby injuries. Between 5-25% of rugby injuries are head injuries, including concussions.

A combination of the birth of professionalism, competitiveness and the rewards has transformed rugby players. Frank Bunce was considered something of a bulldozer just before professionalism at 85kg. This is dwarfed by players like Matt Banahan who weighs in at 112kg. This added size vastly increases the pressure bodies are put under and thus increases injuries caused.

JPR Williams the Welsh and Lions star, now a consultant surgeon had this to say

"I was never averse to putting in big tackles, but the modern game has gone a big step further".

"With the tension between clubs, regions and countries, today's players play more often and at higher intensity than ever before.

"They're being subjected to a vast increase in training by the fitness coaches, to the extent that many injuries now sustained in training are from overuse. 

A rugby player is put at more risk now due to the increased size of players but also the increased number of games. An international player rarely has an off season as they would be on summer tours and the main season has the addition of European Championships. It is thought a modern rugby players sole job to train and play rugby so they must benefit from the constant care of their clubs medical teams. If a player is injured they are immediately assessed and the appropriate care and rehabilitation is given.

An issue can be the conflict of interests. A matter that we may never be fully aware of but the pressures on the player and medical staff to get a player fit may out way the importance of their long term health. The majority of player contracts have a clause of a maximum of 6 months absence through injury. This would put substantial amounts of pressure on a player to be fit for selection before they are ready. A professional rugby player's career is short and doesn't have the financial weight of footballers. You are only one injury away from the end of your career so have to maximize it will you can. This may be a contradiction in terms as playing too early may increase your chance of future potential injury.

Some factors that put players at risk of injury can't be avoided such as tackles. Second rows and props are high at risk of cauliflower ears due to scrummaging. As this is mainly a cosmetic it is usually discarded but still and injury. The risk of this happening shows the mentality of rugby players, they put their bodies on the line every time they play. Players do tape up their ears or wear headguards to lower the risk of this happening.  Certain measures can be used to protect a player and they are allowed to wear more protective items now.

A player is allowed to wear shin guards, gum shield shoulder pads and Heaguards, the last two having to carry an IRB approved mark. The protection argument is one that splits camps. Some see it as a start but much more protection is needed to shield players from harm but some see it as the slow progression into padding such as American Football. Personally I don't want to see this happen as it would rob rugby of its distinctive identity. Also the injury rate in the NFL is no better than rugby for their padding. Whether people agree with it or not, the introduction of protection does show that the governing bodies are putting things in place to protect the players.

Rugby's governing bodies have to look at how to reduce injuries from all angles but the problem is that they are at this high level for many reasons. The physical nature of the game will always mean that players will get injured but measures can still be put in place to limit these to the minimum. The number of games is growing with each season and an international player from a top premiership club fighting in the play offs and Europe will play the most, up to 36 games in one season.

Lawrence Dallaglio said "What concerns me is the length of the season in this part of the world, the amount of games, the level of the training and what players are being asked to do."

To reduce this amount would mean bigger squads to allow player rotation. The number of games isn't going to reduce due to the money involved. Money comes in again with the size of squads due to wage cap; it can only spread so far. The salary cap is a complete argument in its self but it could be a solution to over playing players.

The RFU and IRB do have a difficult job as they have to balance every body's interests within rugby. A decision that is implemented to safe guard players form injury could for example have a big effect on clubs finances and the game as a spectacle for the fans.

There is a glimmer of hope amidst all this worry though. The most recent study by premiership Rugby into English professional players suggests there has been a 20 percent drop in injuries in each game. The examination included training and all major competitions which is a good sign.

"The data contained in the latest report shows a welcome reduction in the likelihood of match injuries and in that regard is much closer to the results of previous years,  said Dr. Simon Kemp, head of sports medicine at the R.F.U.

These findings are encouraging for clubs and players alike. It could be the start of a real reduction in injuries for rugby players. Lets hope so.

This article was wrote by www.KooGa-Rugby.com