The propensity of non-concussive and concussive head contacts during elite-level women’s rugby league matches: A prospective analysis of over 14,000 tackle events.

Apr 03, 2023

Experts: Mily Spiegelhalter,Sean Scantlebury,Omar Heyward,Sharief Hendricks,Cloe Cummins,Andrew J Gardner,Matt Halkier,Shreya McLeod,Gemma Phillips,Cameron Owen,Ben Jones

Identify the frequency, propensity, and factors related to tackle events which result in contact with the head in elite-level women’s rugby league.
Prospective video analysis study.
Video footage from 59 Women’s Super League matches were analysed (n = 14,378 tackle events). All tackle events were coded as no head contact or head contact. Other independent variables included: area contacting head, impacted player, concussion outcome, penalty outcome, round of competition, time in match and team standard.
There were 83.0 ± 20.0 (propensity 304.0/1000 tackle events) head contacts per match. The propensity of head contact was significantly greater for the tackler than ball-carrier (178.5 vs. 125.7/1000 tackle events; incident rate ratio 1.42, 95 % confidence interval 1.34 to 1.50). Head contacts occurring from an arm, shoulder, and head occurred significantly more than any other contact type. The propensity of concussions was 2.7/1000 head contacts. There was no significant influence of team standard or time in match on the propensity of head contacts.
The observed head contacts can inform interventions, primarily focusing on the tackler not contacting the ball-carrier’s head. The tackler’s head should also be appropriately positioned to avoid contact with the ball-carrier’s knee (highest propensity for concussion). The findings are consistent with other research in men’s rugby. Law modifications and/or enforcement (reducing the number of un-penalised head contacts), concurrent with coaching interventions (optimising head placement or reducing the head being contacted) may help minimise head contact risk factors for women’s rugby league.

Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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ABOUT THE EXPERTS

Mily Spiegelhalter,Sean Scantlebury,Omar Heyward,Sharief Hendricks,Cloe Cummins,Andrew J Gardner,Matt Halkier,Shreya McLeod,Gemma Phillips,Cameron Owen,Ben Jones

Mily Spiegelhalter

Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom; Leeds Rhinos Rugby League Club, United Kingdom; England Performance Unit, Rugby Football League, United Kingdom. Electronic address: E.Spiegelhalter@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

Sean Scantlebury

Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom; England Performance Unit, Rugby Football League, United Kingdom. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/SeanScants.

Omar Heyward

Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom; Leeds Rhinos Rugby League Club, United Kingdom; Rugby Football Union, United Kingdom. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Omar_Heyward.

Sharief Hendricks

Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom; Division of Physiological Sciences, and Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport Research Centre, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Towb, South Africa. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/sharief_h.

Cloe Cummins

Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom; School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Australia; National Rugby League, Australia. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/CloeCummins.

Andrew J Gardner

Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom; Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Australia.

Matt Halkier

Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom; England Performance Unit, Rugby Football League, United Kingdom. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/matt_halkier.

Shreya McLeod

School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Health, Medicine, and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle, Australia; Discipline of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health, Australian Catholic University, Australia. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/SMcleod_PT.

Gemma Phillips

Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom; England Performance Unit, Rugby Football League, United Kingdom; Hull Kingston Rovers, United Kingdom.

Cameron Owen

Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom; England Performance Unit, Rugby Football League, United Kingdom; British Swimming, United Kingdom. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/camowen94.

Ben Jones

Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Centre, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom; Leeds Rhinos Rugby League Club, United Kingdom; England Performance Unit, Rugby Football League, United Kingdom; Division of Physiological Sciences, and Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport Research Centre, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Towb, South Africa; School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Australia; Premiership Rugby, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/23benjones.