TY - JOUR T1 - Women’s rugby in the South African context: challenges and opportunities JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine JO - Br J Sports Med SP - 557 LP - 558 DO - 10.1136/bjsports-2023-107019 VL - 57 IS - 10 AU - Lara Paul AU - Natheema Isaacs AU - Dhavina Naidoo AU - Naasier Parker AU - Lynne Cantwell AU - Sharief Hendricks Y1 - 2023/05/01 UR - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/10/557.abstract N2 - Recent reviews and editorials have highlighted the paucity of research within women’s rugby and the challenges with conducting research in women’s sport.1–3 In November 2017, World Rugby (WR) launched a strategic plan that included growing participation in women’s Rugby Union (‘rugby’) across the globe. The broader strategy was initially based on five pillars.4 The updated plan now includes a pillar dedicated to women’s player welfare to support research on women’s rugby in areas of concussion, women’s health, mental well-being and the use of wearable technology.5 Furthermore, WR sought to improve injury surveillance in the women’s game and provide bespoke video analyses.5 The player welfare pillar also ensures the women’s game is represented during the law review process and examines whether gender-specific laws are required to improve safety in the women’s game.5 Lastly, this pillar prioritises medical and technical interventions specific to women.5 The six pillars are highly reliant on each other (figure 1). For example, player injury risk may relate to the player’s progression through the development pathway and the extent of … ER -