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This study aimed to describe anthropometry and incidence, nature and causes of match injuries in women's international rugby sevens and to compare these with results reported previously for men's international rugby sevens. The study comprised an 8-season, prospective study of World Rugby's women's Sevens World Series. Over the eight seasons, the overall incidence of injury was 105.6 (95% CI: 96.0 to 116.3) injuries/1000 player-match-hours with a mean injury severity of 53.4 (95% CI: 46.9 to 59.9) days-absence. There were no statistically significant trends for backs or forwards in the incidence (backs: p = 0.470; forwards: p = 0.242) or mean severity (backs: p = 0.098; forwards: p = 0.544) of injuries sustained over the 8-season period. Head/face (20.8%), knee (19.7%), ankle (11.3%) and shoulder/clavicle (8.4%) were the most common injury locations while ligament sprain (31.7%), concussion (15.6%), haematoma/bruise (11.5%) and fracture (11.5%) were the most common types of injury sustained. Being-tackled (35.4%), tackling (26.3%), collisions (13.8%) and rucks (8.8%) were the match events responsible for most injuries. The study indicates that injury burden in women's international rugby sevens (5,640 days-absence/1000 player-match-hours; 95% CI: 5,123 to 6,209) is similar to that reported previously for men's international rugby sevens (5,263 days-absence/1000 player-match-hours; 95% CI: 5,000 to 5,540).

The aim of this study was to describe the incidence, nature and causes of match injuries in men's international rugby sevens and to compare these to values for international rugby fifteens. The study comprised a 10-season, whole population, prospective study of the Sevens World Series. Over the ten seasons, the overall incidence of injury was 122.4 (95% CI = 116.3 to 128.9) injuries/1000 player-match-hours and the mean severity of injury was 43.0 (95% CI = 40.3 to 45.7) days-absence. There was an increasing trend in the incidence of injury over the ten-season period (slope = 5.3 injuries/1000 player-hours/season, R 2  = 0.68, p = 0.003) but no trend in the mean severity of injury (slope = 0.02 days/season, R 2  < 0.01, p = 0.971). Head/face (15.7%), knee (15.6%), ankle (15.4%) and shoulder/clavicle (11.9%) were the most common injury locations and ligament sprain (30.5%), muscle strain (16.4%), concussion (12.6%) and haematoma/bruise (10.6%) the most common types of injury sustained. Being-tackled (33.1%), tackling (23.4%), running (16.1%) and collisions (12.4%) were the most common events leading to injury. These results indicate that the burden of injury in international rugby sevens is two to three times higher than that reported for international rugby fifteens.

Rugby union is a popular team sport that demands high levels of physical fitness and skill. The study aim was to examine trends in training volume and its impact on injury incidence, severity and burden over an 11-season period in English professional rugby. Data were recorded from 2007/08 through 2017/18, capturing 1,501,606 h of training exposure and 3,782 training injuries. Players completed, on average, 6 h 48 minutes of weekly training (95% CI: 6 h 30 mins to 7 h 6 mins): this value remained stable over the 11 seasons. The mean incidence of training-related injuries was 2.6/1000 player-hours (95% CI: 2.4 to 2.8) with a mean severity rising from 17 days in 2007/08 to 37 days in 2017/18 (Change/season = 1.773, P < 0.01). Rate of change in severity was dependent on training type, with conditioning (non-gym-based) responsible for the greatest increase (2.4 days/injury/season). As a result of increasing severity, injury burden rose from 51 days absence/1000 player-hours in 2007/08 to 106 days' absence/1000 player-hours in 2017/18. Despite the low incidence of injury in training compared to match-play, training accounted for 34% of all injuries. Future assessments of training intensity may lead to a greater understanding of the rise in injury severity.

The aim of this study was to define the incidence and nature of match injuries sustained in men's international under-20 rugby. The study comprised an 8-season prospective study of 16 international under-20 rugby tournaments. Procedures complied with the consensus statement for epidemiological studies in rugby. Outputs included players' mean age, stature and body mass and incidence, severity, location, type and cause of match injuries. The overall incidence of injury was 49.7 injuries/1000 player-match-hours (backs: 48.3; forwards: 50.9) with a mean severity of 32.2 days-absence (backs: 29.4; forwards: 34.4). There were no significant changes in incidence or severity of injury over the study period. Shoulder/clavicle (18.3%), head/face (16.4%), knee (13.7%) and ankle (13.7%) were the most common injury locations and ligament sprain (35.4%), haematoma/bruise (15.9%), concussion (12.5%) and muscle strain (11.2%) the most common types of injury. Being-tackled (29.2%), tackling (24.0%) and collisions (14.3%) were the most common events leading to injury. The results confirm that international under-20 rugby has a high incidence and severity of injury but the incidence is half that reported for senior international players. There was no significant change in the overall incidence of injury at the Under-20 level in the period 2008 to 2016.

The aim of the study was to evaluate changes in the stature, body mass, age and number of players by playing position in the first team squads of English Premiership rugby union teams from 2002 to 2011. Medical personnel at each club reported the individual data for every first team squad player. The average annual number of players included in the study was 485.2 players per season (standard deviation: 58.0). The mean stature of players in all positions increased in the period 2002 to 2011 but statistically significant trends (P < 0.01) were only observed at fly half and prop. While the mean body mass of players increased in most positions only fly half and back row players showed statistically significant (P < 0.01) upward trends. Apart from second row forwards, the average age of players in all positions decreased but this trend was only significant (P < 0.01) at prop. The numbers of registered players in every position increased but these trends were only significant (P < 0.01) at prop. English Premiership professional rugby players are generally getting taller, heavier and younger but statistically significant changes were limited to fly halves (taller and heavier), props (taller and younger) and back row forwards (heavier).