Former British Lion and Wales captain JPR Williams is warning the rugby world that it must “wake up” to the rising tide of injuries caused by the modern game. The consultant surgeon, who won 55 caps playing for Wales, makes the comments as he launches a research partnership with the University of Glamorgan in South Wales to quantify and address the problem.
A major conference on rugby injuries is taking place on Thursday 28 October at the University, with former British Lions and experts from the playing, coaching, medical and research world debating how the rugby players of today can be protected and treated.
JPR Williams said:
“I was never averse to putting in big tackles and enjoying the more physical aspects of the game, and I was on the receiving end plenty of times. But the modern game has gone a big step further. It’s more physical. Players train more, they are bigger, stronger and tackle harder. With the tension between clubs, regions and countries, today’s players play more often and at higher intensity than ever before. They’re being subjected to a vast increase in training by the fitness coaches, to the extent that many injuries now sustained in training as are from overuse. These injuries are often career-ending. It’s time for the game to wake up and get to grips with the problem.”
Four new academic research fellowships, a partnership between JPR Williams and the University of Glamorgan, are being announced, heralding the first comprehensive medical research in Wales into the injuries suffered by rugby players, and how they can be prevented. As well as a database of rugby injuries in Wales, research will include treatments for brain, spine, shoulder and joint injuries, as well as how oxygen chambers can help players train and recover.
Professor Damian Bailey, a University of Glamorgan specialist in brain injury and oxygen deprivation, will supervise key elements of the research. Professor Bailey said:
“There is a real need to document, formalise and analyse the incidence and severity of injuries suffered by elite rugby players. In Wales, the need is particularly pressing. We need good quality longitudinal information, which hasn’t yet been collated with the degree of academic rigour that is needed to draw meaningful conclusions.
“We will be investigating possible parallels, for example, between the frequent collisions in the modern game and the long term effects of the repeated injuries suffered by professional boxers over a career. We will also be covering the medical needs of players from injury prevention to performance improvement, using the very latest research in altitude oxygen training to understand how players can recover quicker and enhance the benefit they get from training. These fellowships are an excellent opportunity to fill a real gap and advance our understanding of what the modern game means for players.
