Table 3 Incidence and severity of injuries sustained by players during matches and training
Playing position (no. of players in group)Incidence, injuries/1000 player-hours (95% CI)Severity, days (95% CI)
MeanMedian
Match injuries
    All forwards84.0 (68.0 to 103.8)14.0 (10.4 to 17.6)6 (4 to 10)
        Front row (3)78.1 (54.6 to 111.7)13.1 (7.7 to 18.5)5 (4 to 14)
        Second row (2)58.6 (35.3 to 97.2)14.9 (6.8 to 23.0)10 (3 to 19)
        Back row (3)106.8 (78.6 to 145.1)14.3 (8.4 to 20.3)6 (4 to 14)
    All backs83.7 (66.8 to 105.0)15.5 (10.7 to 20.3)8 (5 to 11)
        Halves (2)70.3 (44.3 to 111.6)22.3 (7.4 to 37.1)8 (5 to 11)
        Inside backs (2)89.8 (59.7 to 135.1)14.3 (6.3 to 22.3)9 (6 to 33)
        Outside backs (3)88.5 (63.2 to 123.9)12.8 (8.0 to 17.5)5 (4 to 12)
    p Value*0.9840.586
    All players83.9 (71.9 to 97.9)14.7 (11.7 to 17.7)7 (5 to 9)
Training injuries
    All forwards3.5 (2.5 to 4.9)15.9 (9.5 to 22.4)9 (5 to 19)
    All backs3.6 (2.5 to 5.2)19.8 (5.3 to 34.3)10 (6 to 15)
    p Value*0.9120.682
    All players3.5 (2.7 to 4.5)17.8 (12.1 to 23.5)9 (6 to 13)
  • *All forwards vs all backs (Z test).