Professionalism and injuries in rugby union

Abstract

Editor,—Garraway et al 1 are to be congratulated on their meticulous investigation of the incidence of rugby injuries. Rugby has a very high incidence of injuries. Garraway et al state: “An injury episode occurred in a professional team for every 59 minutes of competitive play”—that is, one serious injury among 30 professional players every 59 minutes. Of greater concern is the fact that Garraway et al reported two neck dislocations, one of which resulted in permanent neurological damage, in this recent paper compared with nil in the earlier one.2 The question of …