Banning the tackle in school rugby: Let’s put it into context.

By Kass Gibson (@kassgibson) Proponents and critics of tackle rugby agree that the tackle is the most injurious aspect of the game.[1,2] Nonetheless, fierce debate regarding serious injury aetiology, harm minimization and maximizing health benefit in rugby has emerged.[3,4] I write as an academic and former Physical Education (PE) teacher who supports neither banning nor teaching […]

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Reflections on the World Rugby Science Network 2017

  By Kate Moores @KLM390 and Claire Guthrie @C6uthrie Bringing together the best minds in World Rugby to discuss training, recovery, injuries and everything in between, the World Rugby Science Network (#RSNLive17) held the third annual conference at the University of Bath on Tuesday 12th September. Dr James Betts started the day off discussing protein and carbohydrate intake post-training […]

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Paraceta-MORE: The increasing over-reliance on painkillers in sport

Undergraduate perspective on Sport & Exercise Medicine – a BJSM blog series By Adil Iqbal  Rugby World magazine ran an article back in April which really got me thinking. The article focused on painkiller use in rugby featuring a prominent ex-professional player’s first-hand account of frequent painkiller use and all the issues he was now suffering from(1). […]

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Safety in youth rugby: education is not the answer to the concussion crisis

By Adam White @AdJWhite, Dr. Tim Gamble, and John Batten @JBatz85  Injury worries Despite the potential health benefits from participating in the sport, rugby is under increasing scrutiny as a result of the high number of injuries experienced by youth participants. We know, for example, that injury rates in rugby union for participants under 21 years of age can be […]

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Working in gymnastics – it’s a balancing act

By Emily Ross (@EmilyRossPhysio) Whoa…working in gymnastics, where do we start? Gymnastics is a mesmerising sport which requires a level of power, flexibility, and not to mention a dedication and focus I have never previously witnessed in a childhood and adolescent age group. We are going to do a roundoff full twist through my top […]

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#RSNlive16: Rugby Science Network 2016 Conference (September 13th and 14th, 2016)

Tackling. Concussion. Doping. Rugby is a sport which has had to confront some big topics in the public domain over the past few years, and has persistently shown significant commitment to ensuring the welfare of its participants, be it through research, education, or otherwise. As a collision sport, injuries are unavoidable – and so there […]

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International Rugby Sevens Returns to Singapore: The Medical Team’s Perspective!

By Dr Dinesh Sirisena (@sports_med_doc) and Dr Joanne Probert (@probertjo) Dinesh was both Field of Play Lead and Match Day Doctor, and Joanne was Medical Director at the 2016 Rugby Sevens.  They share their experience of being part of the medical team, when preparing for and delivering care and end with 5 take home points […]

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Tackle injury mechanisms in sport: How different is past, present and future research?

By Sharief Hendricks My colleagues and I are currently working on a couple of reviews in rugby, and like most reviews, we went back as far as 1980. As we illustrated last year, the majority of rugby research has been published in the last ten years and a relatively small proportion has been produced before the […]

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The inaugural World Rugby Science Network Conference: 15-16th September 2015 (Universities of Bath and Cape Town)

Calling all Rugby science and sports medicine afficionados and all members of the rugby family — coaches, players and family members. The inaugural World Rugby Science Network (formerly IRB) Conference, September 15-16th, 2015, promises to deliver practical insights on the latest research applicable to all Rugby codes. The conference will bring together leading athletes, professionals, and […]

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Even players at the highest level get it wrong sometimes…the attempted tackle by Christian Lealiifano on Jonathan Davies

by Dr Sharief Hendricks (@Sharief_H) On Saturday 22 June 2013, the British and Irish Lions recorded a historic win over the Wallabies in the First Test (of three) in Brisbane. As the score suggests, it was a fiercely contested match, and made for some entertaining rugby with debutant Israel Folau crossing the try-line twice, George […]

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