ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2026
Epidemiology of rugby injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Regulatory T cells in perioperative neurocognitive disorders: a systematic review with structured narrative synthesis from molecular mechanisms to clinical translation.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Machine Learning Model Development and Evaluation for Non-contact Lower Limb Injury Risk Prediction in Elite Male Rugby Union: A Multi-team, Multi-season Analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2026Article
- Monitoring Match-Related Fatigue in Youth Rugby Players Using a Readiness Index and Clinical Tests.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Characteristics of Training Injuries Among Chinese Competitive Rugby Sevens Players: A Retrospective Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and Collision Sports: The Need for Further Education in Rugby.Cureus · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Abstract: Objective: To report pooled injury incidence rates stratified by rugby format, level of play, injury outcome and sex, and to identify the most common injury sites and types. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources: Electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science and Scopus) were searched for inception to October 2024 following registration on PROSPERO. Eligibility criteria: Reports reporting injury incidence per 1000 player hours in rugby were included. Pooled incidence rates with 95% CIs were estimated using a random effects model. Injuries were analysed by exposure type, anatomical location, injury type, rugby format, injury outcome and sex. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines, and the PRISMA checklist was utilised. The risk of bias was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Prevalence Studies. Results: Across 148 reports and 8 384 430 player hours, 96 506 rugby injuries were reported. Injury incidence was 71.6 per 1000 player hours (95% CI 38.5 to 132.9) for time-loss injuries and 138.9 (95% CI 56.8 to 339.2) for medical-attention injuries in Rugby Sevens. In Rugby League, incidence was 24.3 (95% CI 9.1 to 64.4) time loss and 61.9 (95% CI 29.9 to 127.9) medical attention per 1000 player hours. In Rugby Union, incidence was 19.9 (95% CI 14.2 to 27.7) time loss and 33.6 (95% CI 22.2 to 50.8) medical attention per 1000 player hours. Match-related injuries were consistently higher than training-related injuries across all rugby formats. Professional players demonstrated higher injury incidence than amateur players in Rugby Union and Rugby League, whereas the opposite trend was observed in Rugby Sevens. Lower limb injuries were most common, followed by head and upper limb injuries. Sprains were the most frequent injury type. Conclusion: Injury incidence is high across rugby formats, particularly in Sevens, and most injuries occur during matches. Lower limb injuries and sprains predominate. Findings are limited by heterogeneity in injury definitions and study quality. PROSPERO registration number: ghttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024599999.
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