INTRODUCTION: Rugby League is an invasion sport characterized by frequent accelerations, decelerations, changes of direction and collisions between players. The game is played world wide at junior and senior age groups and across competitive levels ranging from amateur to elite. Rugby league academy competition is an important step along the pathway to professional player status. Despite the importance of this pathway, to date no research has examined injury risk at senior academy level in England. METHODS: Three professional rugby league academies were recruited to this observational prospective cohort investigation. Eighty-one players were included in the investigation. Physiotherapists from each academy were recruited and remunerated to act as injury surveillance officers throughout the season. Match injuries were recorded using a time-loss definition consistent with the consensus adopted within rugby union. Injury incidence , injury severity and injury burden were all calculated. RESULTS: Injury incidence of 85 <95%CI 67 to 103> injuries/1000 h was observed during the 59 matches played. This equates to 1.5 <95%CI 1.2 to 1.8> time-loss injuries per match. The mean severity of injury was 22 ± 19 days resulting in an overall injury burden of 1870 <95%CI 1785 to 1955 days/1000h>. The tackle event was the most common cause of injury <69% of injuries>, with the tackled player injured more frequently than the tackler . Forwards sustained a greater proportion of injuries than backs and ankle sprains <11, 95%CI 4 to 17 per 1000 h> were the most commonly diagnosed injuries, but the shoulder joint was the most commonly injured site <17, 95%CI 9 to 25 per 1000 h>. CONCLUSION: Overall, the incidence of injury for academy rugby league was similar to that reported in senior professional rugby league <78 injuries / 1000 h> , but the mean severity and overall burden of injury was lower . Injury patterns indicate that academy players are at a higher risk of concussion and shoulder joint injuries than senior professional players. This suggests that the specific focus for injury risk management in academy rugby league should be on players’ tackle technique and prevention strategies for concussion and shoulder injuries. REFERENCES: Fitzpatrick, A. C., Naylor, A. S., Myler, P., & Robertson, C. <2018>. A three-year epidemiological prospective cohort study of rugby league match injuries from the European Super League. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 21<2>, 160-165.
ORCID: 0000-0002-7275-2928
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)