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Objective: To assess and evaluate the long-term safety of local anesthetic injections before or during games in professional rugby league players. Design: Retrospective case series. Setting: Professional rugby league team. Participants: Sydney Roosters players over a 6-year period (2008-2013), who had been administered a local anesthetic injection for an injury before or during a match to aid return to play. Interventions: Follow-up survey (no active intervention). Main Outcome Measures: Player self-reported satisfaction. Survey results were compared with a previous cohort who had received local anesthetic injection from 1998 to 2007. Results: Thirty-two players who had been injected with local anesthetic on 249 occasions for 81 injuries completed the current survey at an average of 5.64 years postinjection. In the cohort of 2008 to 2013, fewer injections were performed to areas deemed higher risk compared with the 1998 to 2007 cohort (P<0.00002). The vast majority of players (80/81 cases) would repeat the injection in the same circumstances and reported that ongoing side effects were uncommon. There were 6 cases (8%) in which players reported significant ongoing pain in the area of injection at long-term follow-up. Conclusions: This study affirmed the long-term safety of injections in most cases. Level of Evidence: IV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pasifika men are significantly over-represented in Australia’s National Rugby League and their dramatic influx into the sport over the past 10-15 years has often been attributed to their ‘natural’ athleticism and other corporeal reasons invoking hyper-masculinity. Coupled with this discourse is the commonly accepted idea that these sporting opportunities are a good thing for Pasifika peoples. This paper considers both the damaging effects of the ‘hyper-masculine body’ and ‘sport-as-inherently good’ discourses, and addresses the positive potential rugby league has in transgressing various forms of oppression. Rather than arguing that sport is a positive force in society or outright challenging that assertion, I demonstrate how rugby league in Australia plays a paradoxical role in both reinforcing and challenging social values around race and masculinity. It can be a rare space for positive visibility and upward mobility for Pasifika and other Indigenous men, and a space of exploitation, degradation and racism; it can even save lives and destroy them. I argue that these complexities should be better understood before any moral claim is made about the positives or negatives of sport for marginalised peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explored the experiences of 89 rugby league referees in England who undertook a mixed methods online survey from the January 9 to March 31, 2017. The results of the survey produced rich data from the open responses, and the quantitative measures are used to support these open responses. Findings identified an established culture of abuse towards referees, a refereeing workforce requiring greater support, better communication with the governing body and, therefore, revisions to existing policy and training. Conclusions identified specific recommendations and policy implications to improve the operational environment and working conditions and increased support for referees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the lack of attention paid to research on the development of Indigenous sporting expertise from a socio-cultural perspective. It inquires into the role that informal games played in the development of Australian Indigenous AFL and NRL players up to the age of thirteen. The study adopted a combined narrative inquiry and constructivist grounded theory methodology. The study highlighted to central role that informal games played in the development of expertise and a distinctive Aboriginal style of play shaped by Indigenous culture. This article suggests the central role that informal games shaped by Aboriginal culture played in the development of expertise and an Aboriginal style of play. It also suggests the need for coaching beyond Indigenous players to consider the use of games in training regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Concussion is regarded as a common injury in rugby league, however no studies have explored the long-term neurophysiological and cognitive effects of repeated concussion injuries in this sport. Methods: Former professional rugby athletes (n = 25) were compared to 25 age-matched participants with no history of a concussion. All participants completed standardised motor dexterity, reaction time, and cognitive tasks for working memory, associative learning and rule acquisition and reversal. Singlepulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) acquired motor evoked potentials and cortical silent period (cSP), as well as paired-pulse TMS for short latency intracortical inhibition and long intracortical inhibition (LICI). Results: Compared to controls, dexterity and visuomotor reaction time was slower in the rugby group compared to controls (p = 0.02, p < 0.01, respectively). The rugby group also demonstrated poorer cognitive performance than controls (p range 0.02 to < 0.01). TMS revealed significantly reduced cSP at suprathreshold stimulation intensities (p range 0.02 to <0.01), and increased LICI (p = 0.03) in the rugby group. Discussion: These findings of motor and cognitive changes, along with neurophysiological alterations, particularly with intracortical inhibition, nearly two decades post-concussion provides evidence for longterm sequelae for athletes with a history of repeated head trauma in contact sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lebanese Rugby League was formed in 1997 in Sydney when a team comprised of Australian-based players of Lebanese descent participated in an international tournament. The Lebanese national team later qualified for two rugby league men's World Cups (2000 and 2017). The case demonstrates how diasporas can shape sport development. The accomplishment of the Lebanese team has also given the small country some exposure at the global level. Additionally, since 2002, a new sport has been established in Lebanon, making the country one of the few cases in the world where rugby league is more popular than rugby union. This paper examines diaspora issues including the assimilation of Lebanese emigrants into Australian sporting culture and strategic uses of citizenship. Furthermore, the research sheds light on the 'glocalized' development of rugby league in Lebanon by its establishment at private Lebanese universities while it is known in Australia for its working-class origins. There is a relationship of mutual dependence between diaspora and homeland: without its diaspora, Lebanon could not participate in the World Cup, and without domestic development in the sport (which includes, since 2015, also women's teams), the diaspora would not be permitted to participate in global championships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To quantify the magnitude, frequency, duration and distribution of head impact exposure in a women's rugby league competition.Design: Prospective cohort study.Methods: Twenty-one players had a wireless impact measuring device (X2Biosystems XPatch) behind their right ear during match participation. Head impact data were collected and downloaded for analysis. Median peak linear and rotational accelerations and impact locations between player positions were assessed using a Friedman repeated measures ANOVA on ranks with a Wilcoxon signed-rank test for post hoc analysis with a Bonferroni correction.Results: A total of 1659 impacts to the head >10g were recorded (range 10g-91g) over the nine competition matches. There was a mean of 184±18 impacts per-match resulting in a mean of 14±12 impacts per-player per-match. The No. 8 prop recorded a mean of 29±27 impacts per-match, the No. 12 second-row forward recorded the highest median peak resultant linear acceleration (16g) per-match and the No. 11 second-row forward recorded the highest median peak resultant rotational acceleration (3696rad/s2).Conclusions: Our cohort of 21 female rugby league athletes were exposed to repetitive sub-concussive head impact exposure with an average of 14 impacts per-player per-match. Forwards were exposed to more impacts per-match than backs and these impacts were of higher magnitude. Most impacts occurred on the side of the head and were sustained during the second half of the game. Clinicians, coaches and players should be aware of the rates and magnitude of head impacts in female rugby league athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: to determine the possibility of increasing the level of special physical preparedness of rugby players of 16-18 years old by means of hypoxic influences. Results: after 10 sessions of hypoxic action during return breathing in confined space and circular special training, a significant increasing of the special physical preparedness level is observed. These results are based on the patterns of adaptation of the organism to a gradual decrease in the volume of oxygen (O2) in the respiratory air. In the process of integral hypoxic training (IHT), were recorded the cardiovascular parameters (blood pressure systolic and diastolic, heart beats) and respiratory systems (lung ventilation (LV), breathing rate (BR), coefficient of the use of oxygen (CO O2)). In addition, the percentage of carbon dioxide (PCO2) and oxygen (PO2) in the exhaled air was determined. To establish the dependence of the level of special physical readiness, a linear multiple regression analysis was used that determines the role of each factor in performing complex technical elements of the game technique. The application of reverse step regression has made it possible to establish the most important factors. Materials of the study: indicate the need to include in the training process hypoxic effects. Competitive activity of rugby players is carried out under constant hypoxic influences. Inclusion of integral hypoxic training and special hypoxic effects promotes an increase in the level of anaerobic working capacity. Conclusions: results of research have determined the adaptation patterns of the oxygen transport system of rugby players of 16-18 years to hypoxic influences. Inclusion in the training process of interval hypoxic training contributed to a more significant increase in general and special physical preparedness, which gives grounds for using hypoxic training tools in sports practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance indicators allow for the objective quantification of performance, however, limited PI research for professional rugby league exists. Therefore, this paper assessed 24 relative PIs (home value minus away) from all 27 rounds of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 European Super League seasons, collected by Opta, amounting to 567 matches. Backwards logistic (match outcome) and linear (points difference) regression models were used alongside exhaustive Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection decision trees to identify performance indicators (PIs) and key performance indicators. Teams had a higher chance of winning and would gain more points when they scored first (OR = 1.6,β = 2.4) and increased completed sets (OR = 1.2,β = 1.2) by one unit. Conversely, teams had a lower chance of winning when they increased scoots (OR = 0.9,β = −0.2). However, some PIs which were thought to be important (as identified by previous literature) were removed from the analysis thus calling into question the appropriateness of stepwise methods. Future research may consider utilising dimension reduction techniques when analysing large data-sets that encompass multiple variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: to investigate the special physical fitness rugby, who were engaged in the experimental procedure. The technique is based on the application of the developed relations training load. Material : the study involved 60 athletes aged 16-18 years. Results : the program presents the main provisions of special physical preparation of athletes in the preparatory period of training macrocycle. Value for training work on special physical preparation as follows: September - the main emphasis is placed on special endurance and was 100 % of the training time; October - special endurance - 70%, strength endurance - 20% power capacity - 10%; November - respectively 50, 30, 20 %, December - 30, 40, 30 %. Conclusions : the proposed construction of a pilot version of training is more effective than traditional. It allows rational selection of training load. Also contributing to the priority development of physical qualities, gaming specialization athletes.

Recent studies and increased media reporting across Australasia have linked young Pacific male elite athletes to depression, suicide, and other adverse mental health-related events. Despite these accounts, little is known about the way this group experience emotions and mental wellbeing. The aim of this study was to explore young Pacific male athletes’ perceptions and experiences of emotions and mental wellbeing. This qualitative study involved 20 face-to-face interviews with young Pacific males (16–24 years) engaged in elite rugby union and rugby league programmes in Auckland, New Zealand. The results identified that athletes defined mental wellbeing in a holistic and relational manner and perceived mental wellbeing as the culmination of several interconnected factors, including: Family support, reciprocating family support, living a ‘well-balanced’ life, athletic performance, and personal development away from sports. The maintenance of a well-balanced athletic identity and positive social relations were deemed central to sustaining mental wellbeing for these young men.

Background: Two common single nucleotide polymorphisms within the COL5A1 gene (SNPs; rs12722 C/T and rs3196378 C/A) have previously been associated with tendon and ligament pathologies. Given the high incidence of tendon and ligament injuries in elite rugby athletes, we hypothesised that both SNPs would be associated with career success. Results: In 1105 participants (RugbyGene project), comprising 460 elite rugby union (RU), 88 elite rugby league athletes and 565 non-athlete controls, DNA was collected and genotyped for the COL5A1 rs12722 and rs3196378 variants using real-time PCR. For rs12722, the injury-protective CC genotype and C allele were more common in all athletes (21% and 47%, respectively) and RU athletes (22% and 48%) than in controls (16% and 41%, P ≤ 0.01). For rs3196378, the CC genotype and C allele were overrepresented in all athletes (23% and 48%) and RU athletes (24% and 49%) compared with controls (16% and 41%, P ≤ 0.02). The CC genotype in particular was overrepresented in the back and centres (24%) compared with controls, with more than twice the odds (OR = 2.25, P = 0.006) of possessing the injury-protective CC genotype. Furthermore, when considering both SNPs simultaneously, the CC–CC SNP-SNP combination and C–C inferred allele combination were higher in all the athlete groups (≥18% and ≥43%) compared with controls (13% and 40%; P = 0.01). However, no genotype differences were identified for either SNP when RU playing positions were compared directly with each other. Conclusion: It appears that the C alleles, CC genotypes and resulting combinations of both rs12722 and rs3196378 are beneficial for rugby athletes to achieve elite status and carriage of these variants may impart an inherited resistance against soft tissue injury, despite exposure to the high-risk environment of elite rugby. These data have implications for the management of inter-individual differences in injury risk amongst elite athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]