Rugby union

We hope you have all managed to see some of the matches or highlights of the incredibly exciting Women's Rugby World Cup? We are deep into rugby season now and there are Autumn Internationals taking place this month as well some brilliant Barbarians games.

You might have heard some bad press recently about head injuries in rugby, but important changes are being made to make sure rugby is safer for everyone taking part. Just like changes were made to heading the ball in football for U12's, rugby is making sure that the risks of injuries to the head are dramatically reduced. Here's how:

Activate

This the RFU’s Injury Prevention Exercise Programme which is to be used in training and pre-match sessions.

The specially created exercises have been created so that, if they are done regularly, they can:

Improve playing performance.
Prepare players for the physical demands of the game.
Reduce the risk of injury including concussion, as well as support rehabilitation post injury.
Mean more players are available (due to less players being injured).

You can go to the RugbySafe Activate Toolkit to access the free resources including:

Activate Kids for the U7 - U12 age groups
Activate Youth programmes for U13-U14, U15-U16 and U17-U18

Headcase

As with other sports, the RFU takes concussion incredibly seriously. They have created some brilliant resources to help guide your parents, coaches and teachers to recognise concussion and to treat it properly. If treated correctly then the return to playing again will be much smoother.

They have also created this video to help explain to you what concussion is and why it is important to be honest about the way you feel if you were to get a knock to the head. Also why you should not try to rush back to sport, or indeed school, until you have followed the important steps to recovery - just like you would if you had hurt a leg or arm.

https://keepyourbootson.co.uk/rugbysafe-toolkit/headcase/

Tackle Height change and IMG's....

Last season, the RFU changed the tackle height in U18 rugby from shoulder height to the line of the armpit. The aim is to take two heads out of the same space when tackling and so to reduce knocks and injuries. They are now looking at reducing it to waist height and have been running trials of this potential rule change in school rugby festivals. One of these took place at Millfield School on 17th September 2022. Eight schools took part: Millfield, Exeter, Kings Taunton, Canford, Taunton, Clifton, Blundells and QEH Bristol with around 180 U16 players taking part. Two of the teams also wore Instrumented Mouth Guards (IMG's). These are special mouthguards that gather data as it is worn and then wirelessly transmit any information relating to a collision.

JOINING THE DATA TOGETHER

The information from changing tackle heights, wearing IMG's, working through the Activate training sessions and informing people through Headcase will all help make rugby safer into the future so that you can all enjoying playing more with your teammates and friends.

Thank you to the RFU for the information in this article.