A study that recommends a fresh approach to how women rugby union players are coached to minimise on-field injuries has won Sports Medicine Australia’s Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport article of the year award.

With women’s rugby one of the fastest-growing sports globally, research has found that up to 67 per cent of women’s match injuries occur during tackling.

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

The article, produced by a team led by Dr Kathryn Dane from Trinity College Dublin,  was recently judged JSAMS Article of the Year for 2023.

The research findings underscore the need for increased institutional support and coach education specifically aimed at improving the quality of tackle coaching for women’s rugby.

The research found that women typically started playing rugby in adulthood, which saw players learn the fundamentals of tackling at a later age and in a much shorter period than their male counterparts.

Lead researcher Dr Kathryn Dane from Trinity College Dublin said: “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.”

Women also faced inequitable playing conditions and were “at the mercy of men in the club” in terms of access to facilities, quality coaching and support staff.

The study – involving 21 current female rugby union players, aged 20 to 48, from Europe, Africa, and North America – found that there were “bare minimum” standards of tackle coaching available to female players.

“We cannot assume that men and women are situated in similar or equivalent rugby training contexts,” Dr Dane said.

“Women’s rugby development pathways are still in their infancy and some players may only start playing during adulthood.

“Given the extent of tackle-related injury problems in rugby and the fact that women remain under-represented in rugby research, conducting qualitative research to understand the experiences of women rugby players expands the tackle injury mitigation debate and helps ensure that tackle safety and performance strategies are more relevant and representative of the playing population,” she said.

“As women’s rugby continues to grow rapidly, there is an urgent need for research and coaching approaches that embrace the distinctive contexts within which women play rugby,” Dr Dane said.

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

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About JSAMS

The Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (JSAMS) is published by Sports Medicine Australia.

The journal provides high-quality, original research papers to keep Sports Medicine Australia members and subscribers informed of developments in the areas of sports exercise and medicine, sports injury, physical activity, and sports exercise and science.