Eight-point plan introduced as concussion reported most common injury in rugby for sixth consecutive year

The report showed 22 per cent of all injuries were concussion based

George North is just one of the players who has suffered concussion injuries in the past (Getty)

English rugby chiefs have announced an eight-point plan to make the game safer after concussion was found to be the most commonly reported injury in rugby union in England for the sixth consecutive year.

The Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance Project, commissioned by the RFU, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players’ Association, was released on Monday for the 2016-17 season and showed that 22 per cent of injuries were concussion based.

The report also showed that the cases of concussions requiring absence of three months or more increasing to “a trend to more conservative management of players who have sustained two or more concussions in a 12-month period”.

Rugby's eight-point plan

• Laws - to work collaboratively with World Rugby on ongoing review of the laws

• Law application - analysis of referee decision making and reviews on all dangerous/late tackle cards, penalties and omissions

• Player load - Medical advisory group to advise on optimal match, training and life loads for players, as well as squad size and composition 

• Training injury risk - workshops and discussions with Premiership and England coaches, players and conditioners with a view to developing more understanding

• Concussion risk in the tackle - workshop with players and coaches to identify technical changes that may be possible in the tackle

• Resources - to establish whether sufficient personnel capacity is in place to mitigate injury risks

• Game analysis and injury risk - additional game event analysis resource to assess changes in game activity from next season

• Artificial grass pitch risk in elite game - further research on different injury types and the risk of these on artificial pitches compared with natural turf

Hamstring injuries and cruciate ligament knee injuries are the top three ailments resulting in an absence of 84 days or more with an average of 3.8 injuries per match – so 1.9 per team – for every Premiership game of last season. The average severity of match injuries, measured by the time taken to return to play, was 32 days.

There was also a spike in injuries picked up on the training ground (36 per cent) and on artificial pitches.

As a result, new measures are to be brought in, including working with World Rugby, the sport’s governing body, to review the laws of what height currently constitutes a high tackle.

Premiership Rugby admitted the report represented “significant challenges” for player welfare with the wide-ranging plan launched to try and make the game safer.