Injury epidemiology and reduction in men’s and women’s amateur adult rugby union in Ireland

Background: There are many physiological, psychological and behavioural benefits to participating in physical activity and sport. Participation in sport, however, inherently increases ones risk to sustain an injury. Within contact sports, this risk has been shown to be inversely proportional to the level of competition, that is, that amateurs experience more overall injuries than their professional counterparts. Rugby Union in particular has shown greater overall injury rates than other contact sports such as soccer, hurling, Gaelic football, and American football. Since there tends to be more resources available in professional sport compared to amateur, exercise programmes have been developed by researchers and governing bodies in sport to help reduce the rate of injuries within amateur communities. To date, such a programme does not exist for Rugby Union in Ireland despite it being one of the most popular sports played in the country.