Avoiding catastrophic injuries at the Rugby World Cup. We explore effective injury prevention strategies and what other sports can learn from rugby with Dr James Brown and Dr Sharief Hendricks from South Africa.

Dr James Brown (@jamesbrown06) and Dr Sharief Hendricks (@Sharief_H), Post-Doctoral researchers from the division for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine (ESSM) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), share their expertise in rugby science in our “Emerging Voices” series led by BJSM editor Nicol van Dyk (@NicolVanDyk).

Dr Brown focuses on rugby injury prevention for both BokSmart (www.boksmart.com) and the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund (www.playersfund.org.za). James’ PhD thesis evaluated the effectiveness of South Africa Rugby Union’s BokSmart programme (www.boksmart.com).

Dr Sharief Hendricks holds an NRF Innovation Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Cape Town. He has investigated the tackle in Rugby Union and he examines how training and match behaviour data can help coaches improve players’ performance, and minimise injury risk. Sharief has also contributed substantially to national strategic documents for his country’s rugby union (SARU).

Both speakers contributed to the inaugural World Rugby Science Network Conference (http://rsnlive15.com), co-hosted between University of Bath and the University of Cape Town. They utilised a multi-media online platform and had an excellent line up of speakers just days before the Rugby World Cup kicked off.

You can hear both speakers in the “Rugby Medicine” track upcoming Transact South African Sports Medicine Association (SASMA) Conference 2015 (http://www.sasma2015.co.za), Johannesburg South Africa, 16-22 October 2015 (@SASMA2015). This bi-ennial conference has an excellent line up of international speakers, and a clinically driven programme under the leadership of Dr. Jon Patricios (@jonpatricios) is set to deliver a great week of learning and fun.

Find a list of publications from James and Sharief on their website www.rugbyscientists.com. Here are two favourites from BJSM:

Are we currently underestimating the risk of scrum-related neck injuries in rugby union front-row players?

http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/14/1127.extract

An evidence-driven approach to scrum law modifications in amateur rugby played in South Africa