Research calls for a limit on games
THE Rugby Players Association is calling for a limit of 30 games per season to reduce injury risk.
New research funded by the RPA indicates that players making “31 match involvements” in a campaign face a “significantly higher injury burden” in the following year.
The study, entitled The Influence of Match Exposure on Injury Risk in Elite Men’s Rugby Union, and conducted by the University of Bath, defines match involvement as “any time spent on the field”. It builds upon a previous study conducted in 2017 and utilises data from the Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby.
RPA welfare director Richard Bryan said: “The RPA position is that season match limits should be reduced to a maximum of 30 match involvements of any kind for a player, in order to reduce injury risk.
“Going forward it is essential that this research, and other research on match/training exposure and injury risk, continues to be refreshed along with the assessments and conclusions reached for both the men’s and women’s game.” An RPA statement adds that it could even recommend further reductions to the 30-game cap depending on the outcome of a further ongoing mouthguard study.
The research has been welcomed in the wider game.
Mark Harrington, World Rugby’s chief player welfare and rugby services officer, said: “World Rugby welcomes all research that has the ability to inform evidence-based moves to reduce the risk of injury in rugby through prevention, management and education.”
Conrad Smith, head of player welfare and high performance for global representative body International Rugby Players, said: “Injury prevention is one of the most pressing issues in our game and this is extremely important research from the RPA.”
■ A sell-out Ashton Gate crowd of 26,387 will watch Bristol Bears take on South Africa A tonight.
Joe Joyce, inset, will captain his hometown club against the touring South Africans in front of the biggest-ever crowd for a sporting event since the stadium’s redevelopment.
The Bristolian lock will partner Joe Batley, with Yann Thomas, Bryan Byrne and Max Lahiff getting the nod in the front row. Magnus Bradbury moves over to blindside in the back row alongside Jake Heenan and Fitz Harding, with Will Porter and Callum Sheedy at half-back.
Sam Bedlow and Piers O’Conor are selected at centre, with Gabriel Ibitoye and Deago Bailey joining Luke Morahan in the back three.
Meanwhile, South Africa ‘A’ head coach Mzwandile Stick has, as reported earlier this week made five changes to his starting team to face the Bristol Bears following his side’s 28-14 defeat to Munster last week.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Marco van Staden earn starts in a South Africa squad that features 12 capped Springboks.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu joined the SA ‘A’ team in Bristol on Sunday after spending the last two weeks with the Boks in Dublin and Toulon respectively, while Van Staden joined the SA ‘A’ team after being ruled out of Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber’s original 35-man Castle Lager Outgoing Tour travelling squad due to a rib injury.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu replaces Johan Goosen at flyhalf in a new halfback pairing with Grant Williams, while the only other change among the backs is at fullback, where Gianni Lombard takes over from Aphelele Fassi, who injured an ankle injury in the team’s 28-14 defeat against Munster last Thursday.
The changes in the forward pack were at hooker, where Andre-Hugo
Venter is named in place of Joseph Dweba, who is on standby for the Springbok squad, with Van Staden replacing Phepsi Buthelezi at flank. ■ Gloucester Rugby have locked down young fly-half George Barton, 21, to a new contract extension with his home club.
A product of Gloucester’s Longlevens RFC, Barton joined the Gloucester Rugby academy in 2014 and has developed through the pathway and into the first team. Barton scored the most points in a Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League in the 2017/18 season and represented England at U18 and U20 level.
And Cheltenham-born Barton has already made 14 appearances in the Premiership for the club, including coming off the bench last weekend early in the match against Newcastle Falcons to make an eye-catching cameo, and has already featured for the Cherry and Whites in the European Heineken Champions Cup.
With centre Billy Twelvetrees now 34, Barton is a big part of head coach George Skivington’s plans.
Gloucester Rugby chief operating officer Alex Brown said: “At 21-yearsold he’s already an extremely important part of the squad here at Kingsholm.”