With women’s rugby emerging as one of the fastest-growing sports worldwide, research reveals that up to 67% of injuries in women’s rugby matches occur during tackles.

The study, titled “It’s always the bare minimum” – A qualitative study of players’ experiences of tackle coaching in women’s rugby union, has been republished as an open-access article in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (JSAMS).

Led by Dr. Kathryn Dane from Trinity College Dublin, the article was recently named SMA’s Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (JSAMS) Article of the Year for 2023.

Dr Dane commented: “Female players face inconsistent training, mistaken assumptions that they already had tackling skills, and coaching techniques that incorrectly presume what worked for male players will work for female players.”

Dr Dane has represented Ireland since the 2018 Women’s Six Nations Championship. She is a scrum half.

Article link:
https://www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440(23)00002-6/fulltext