Rugby players are becoming a dying breed, as mounting injury lists take their toll on all levels of rugby union around the world. Since the introduction of professional rugby, the game has obviously become more physical, and the management of injuries is playing a important role in successful campaigns.
With a noticeably larger injury toll in Super Rugby this season, it’s worth investigating the causes, probability and impact of serious injury within our game.
Aside from the ethical dilemmas involved in serious player injury, there is also cause for concern, as players begin to opt for a sport where the earning potential better matches the risks involved.
The amount of time for a player to maximise that earning potential is shrinking, their value diminished by the risks involved in such a high-impact game.
A recent British Columbia Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU) study proved that as many as one in four rugby players globally will be injured in any given season, and chances of a significant injury are vastly higher in certain playing positions.
This is evident as almost 25% of neck injuries in rugby occur when there is a mismatch in experience between the two opposing front rows. Forwards are also significantly more injury prone, given their higher involvement in collisions and tackles.
This becomes is compounded when replacement players are not trained or experienced enough to compete safely when called up for higher representative duties.
According to a recent Australian Bureau of Statistics study, rugby union has the highest overall injury rate in Australian sport, with 36% of players reporting some form of injury over a six-month period.
This raises questions about whether player preparation and injury treatment in our game is at a high enough standard to keep it sustainable.
Professional players are currently under too much pressure to perform when injuries have not been fully treated and further injury becomes likely.
When Phil Waugh decided to take the ‘conservative’ approach, deciding against surgery to play with a ruptured bicep earlier this season, it set an example for other players to continue through injury regardless of the potential of further damage.
The BCIRPU study suggested that more injuries occur at the start of a season, and this indicates that players at an elite level have not had sufficient preparation.
The study also showed that flankers and hookers were more likely to succumb to injury than any other players – a point clearly evident when checking the Waratahs’ current injury list.
Waratahs flanker Locky McCaffery has spent the last seven months on the sidelines, after breaking both his tibia and fibula and dislocating his ankle at the same time.
“Being injured is a part of a rugby career so it doesn’t affect my attitude, you just have to take the good with the bad,” he said.
A recent investigation by The Telegraph in the UK indicated that at any point in a rugby Season, an average of 33 percent of professional players are carrying some form of injury. This has an impact on players, coaching staff and spectators alike.
Certain players fill seats in a stadium, and with injuries affecting stars, the game itself suffers. It is worth logging onto the Waratahs website to see Drew Mitchell and Phil Waugh, each with a layer of makeup ‘mud’, featured on every page, regardless of the fact that neither is currently playing.
The Waratahs are down to their third-choice hooker, John Ulugia, in their starting XV while their two most influential back rowers,Phil Waugh and Wycliff Palu, are both sitting on the sidelines due to injury.
As Ulugia has played very little Super Rugby recently, this raises ethical concerns about whether his own preparation is sufficient to handle elite rugby. It brings to light the constant concern of a lack of an high-level competition below Super Rugby.
The growing concerns over injuries in elite rugby is an issue that needs to be addressed, although there is no clear solution. Further padding and protecting would detract from rugby’s physical nature, although this may be necessary to ensure the survival of our players.
Maybe this is just another obstacle for coaches and players to overcome, but in my opinion, far more importance should be placed on preserving this dying breed before it becomes too late.
Sharks fan
Guest
Scrums are all about brute force. If you don't like it, there's other games
AndyS
Guest
Agreed, and I'm sure this of all weeks Carter would have recovered if it were at all possible. Amazing list though and they're perhaps not rushing folks back (quite sensibly). Irrespective, it will doubtless all be conspiracy theories in a few months time.
Jerry
Guest
You might be on to something Andy. Though how Henry convinced Piri Weepu to smash his ankle up and spend 6 months on the shelf, I'm not sure. And it was pretty clever of Conrad to have his face smashed in so he could be fresh for the test season...
forrest
Roar Rookie
http://www.theroar.com.au/2011/04/19/super-referees-need-a-lesson-in-scrummaging/ If you're interested in the impact of the scrums, have a read of this. :)
AndyS
Guest
Hmmm, hadn't really noticed but a list like that does reek of rest period...
Benz
Guest
I think alot of the injuries that occur in early season are just effects of lack of mental and physical match conditiong. I don't think there are to many ways to fix this from a management point of view. I think the increase in muscular injuries highlights the importance of physical conditioning and proper diet. Sport science advances and proper conditioning programs are the key to minimalizing injuries in modern day rugby. As long as contact is part of the sport there will always be injuries of a concussive (impactive) nature these cannot be helped, it is the things like hamstrings, quadriceps and calves that can be conditioned properly.
Hoy
Roar Guru
Mitchell was in the fist half of the game. Possibly even only about 25 in. "The BCIRPU study suggested that more injuries occur at the start of a season, and this indicates that players at an elite level have not had sufficient preparation." I disagree. Or maybe I agree. I personally find that when I do my own off season, I invariably get muscle tears during the club preseason, through sheer eagerness, and over confidence. I go into the club preseason too hard and end up with hammy or quad tears etc. When I don't do my own offseason, I seem to ease into preseason a lot better, but it hurts a lot more. Injuries are part and parcel of the game. You can't not promote someone to the level of super 15 because they have not played there before. Noone would get a game ever. The game can't afford to pay an extended squad just on the off chance they need a fourth string Hooker. Just a few thoughts.
Curious
Guest
It would be interesting to see a full precentage breakdown of the injuries as there seems to be a higher proportion of hamstring problems than I can remember 20 years ago. Is the problem due to over training and are some other "injuries" possibly due to this as well. The initial contact of the scrum also needs work as the present "4 refs intructions" are not working.These instructions are interpreted in different ways by each ref and a classic example of this was when Walsh was replaced at half time in the recent Reds vs Waratahs game. Maybe at the next refs seminar make the scrums up of refs and see how they cope with the variety of calls.
Gary Russell-Sharam
Guest
Interesting article but I'm unsure that there is a solution to the perceived problem. Injuries are part of the game it is a contact sport and contact will always generate injuries. Some solutions to lower the instance in the scrums I am in agreeance with such as take the hit away from the scrum. Lock the scrums in first then when the ball goes in, push. But most injuries occur in the tackle. Even AFL have a high degree of injury when contact comes about and their code doesn't actually lend towards tackling the man. I repeat I'm at a loss to find a way to prevent injuries that occur any more than they do at present. I think it is part of the game and we should just live with it. That is not to say we should stop learning about ways to prevent injury if they come about but I think we have to resign ourselves that in a high contact sport there is always going to be injuries at a fairly high level
Matt
Guest
I wonder how injuries in Rugby Union would compare to the other full contact sports; namely Rugby League, American Football, Canadian Football and Ice Hockey. The last three American sports all use body armour for protection, yet there is still SIGNIFICANT evidence suggesting they suffer serious casualty numbers. Scrums are certainly one area where injuries rates can be tuned down a bit, but there has also been Rugby injury studies published stating the tackle as one of the most common junctures where injury occurs. Essentially Rugby players have been getting injured since time immortal. Heck, it was supposedly the cause of the original split between Union and League over 100 years ago. It's only when we start measuring injuries in dollars that it seems we take them seriously. Tackling and Rucking ARE violent things. You absolutely can't expect a sport to contain strong contact without injuries occuring. All contact sports have very serious hits (think Ice Hockey, NFL etc) so it's never going away. All we can do is make sure we're responsible in minimising the injuries to players. Logic then tells you that the more rugby you play the more you will be injured, so continually adding more games to a players season is increasing his chance of an injury, just as players in a more intense position (loose forwards and hookers) will get injured more too. As ever though, more information and a bigger sample size is alway needed to gain more clarity as to how injury rates can be reduced within the laws of a single game. Not sure about substitutions being the cause personally, as it does seem to be quite random as to when injuries occur and in many cases it's actually earlier in the game when both teams are playing at a higher intensity that injuries seem to happen. Just as an aside, can many Roarers recollect injuries of late in Super Rugby and how/when in the game they happened? The few that spring to mind for me have been: Drew Mitchell's - Ankle (3rd Quarter?) - Non tackle collision on a kick chase Isiah Toeava - Hip fracture (not from a game) - Ongoing injury not healed properly Conrad Smith (2nd Quarter?) - Head clash in a tackle Charlie Ngatai - Knee ligament (3rd quarter) - Tackle Any others from the vault-like memory banks of the Roarers rugby collective?
Stringo
Guest
The game doesn't need less subs it needs more. 30 a side instead of 22 giving more players less time on the field, less time to be injured. Padding and protection do not reduce the physical side of American football, and it wouldn't for rugby either. A scrum cap with better cushioning would be an advance as was found in US testing. There's not much you can do to protect knees and ankles though. I'd like to see less vigorous training. And I'd get rid of the cleanout which often sees players getting belted yards off the ball.
Jerry
Guest
Oh, I think it's a good theory and it does make - I'd like to see if the evidence backs it up.
Ben S
Roar Guru
The players wouldn't necessarily need to be taken off in that period for them to have been injured at that juncture, or at least for long-term injuries/fatigue to be a related problem, Jerry. I think it's a worthwhile point when you think of how benches are now packed specifically with impact players whose role is either to speed up a game or inject some physical presence into it.
Jerry
Guest
Perhaps, but I haven't really noticed any real increase in the frequency of injuries in the 4th quarter of matches as opposed to the first 3. I'd quite like to see some research as to when most injuries occur. I saw this on another forum - a team made of currently injured NZ players 15. I. Toeava 14. C. Jane 13. C. Smith (c) 12. M. Nonu 11. S. Sivivatu 10. D. Carter 9. P. Weepu 8. R. So'oialo 7. D. Braid 6. S. Whitelock 5. A. Boric 4. B. Thorn 3. B. Franks 2. - 1. T. Woodcock
Ben S
Roar Guru
'Secondly, I think there are too many substitutes in rugby. Nearly half the team don’t finish the match in most games nowadays an when you have tiring bodies coming up against someone fresh coming off the bench wanting to make an impact, injuries are bound to happen.' I think this is a key point that is often overlooked/ignored.
CizzyRascal
Roar Guru
I think this article is a bit sensational the way it's written but does have some important points. First of all the scrum needs to be fixed. It should be changed so that there is a greater emphasis on technique rather than the brute force of the initial hit. Secondly, I think there are too many substitutes in rugby. Nearly half the team don't finish the match in most games nowadays an when you have tiring bodies coming up against someone fresh coming off the bench wanting to make an impact, injuries are bound to happen.