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ABSTRACT Objectives Describe head acceleration events (HAEs) experienced by professional male rugby union players during tackle, ball‐carry, and ruck events using instrumented mouthguards (iMGs). Design Prospective observational cohort. Methods Players competing in the 2023 Currie Cup (141 players) and Super Rugby (66 players) seasons wore iMGs. The iMG‐recorded peak linear acceleration (PLA) and peak angular acceleration (PAA) were used as in vivo HAE approximations and linked to contact‐event data captured using video analysis. Using the maximum PLA and PAA per contact event (HAE max ), ordinal mixed‐effects regression models estimated the probabilities of HAE max magnitude ranges occurring, while accounting for the multilevel data structure. Results As HAE max magnitude increased the probability of occurrence decreased. The probability of a HAE max ≥15 g was 0.461 (0.435–0.488) (approximately 1 in every 2) and ≥45 g was 0.031 (0.025–0.037) (1 in every 32) during ball carries. The probability of a HAE max >15 g was 0.381 (0.360–0.404) (1 in every 3) and >45 g 0.019 (0.015–0.023) (1 in every 53) during tackles. The probability of higher magnitude HAE max occurring was greatest during ball carries, followed by tackles, defensive rucks and attacking rucks, with some ruck types having similar profiles to tackles and ball carries. No clear differences between positions were observed. Conclusion Higher magnitude HAE max were relatively infrequent in professional men's rugby union players. Contact events appear different, but no differences were found between positions. The occurrence of HAE max was associated with roles players performed within contact events, not their actual playing position. Defending rucks may warrant greater consideration in injury prevention research.
Roe et al. (Sat,) studied this question.