Ross Tucker

• PhD Exercise Physiology
• Researcher at World Rugby

Objectives The tackle carries the highest risk of concussion in women’s rugby union. To reduce concussion risk, a lowered maximum tackle height (LTH) law, lowering the maximum legal tackle height from the shoulder to below the base of the sternum, was implemented across Scottish community rugby. This study aimed to assess the effect of the LTH on p...

Background Head acceleration events (HAEs) are an increasing concern in collision sports owing to potential negative health outcomes. Objectives The objective of this study is to describe the probabilities of HAEs in tackles of differing heights and body positions in elite men’s and women’s rugby union. Methods Instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) wer...

This study aimed to quantify the frequency of individual and team contact events during rugby union match play in top domestic and international men’s and women’s competitions. Analyst‐coded player individual and team contact event types (tackles, carries, attacking rucks and defensive rucks, lineouts, scrums and mauls) from the 2022/2023 rugby uni...

Background/objectives The tackle has the highest risk and causes the most concussions in rugby union. As such, law variation prevention strategies aiming to reduce head contact have been introduced. This study investigated whether a law variation lowering the maximum legal height of the tackle, from the shoulder to the base of the sternum, was an e...

This study aimed to quantify contact-events and associated head acceleration event (HAE) probabilities in semi-elite women's rugby union. Instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) were worn by players competing in the 2023 Farah Palmer Cup season (13 teams, 217 players) during 441 player-matches. Maximum peak linear acceleration (PLA) and peak angular accele...

Objectives Contact with the head should be avoided during a rugby league tackle, given the inherent risks of head injuries. This study aimed to characterise a sample of tackles, retrospectively identified as resulting in a potential head injury by the Rugby Football League (RFL) match review panel. Design Retrospective video analysis study. Metho...

Purpose Head acceleration events (HAEs) are a growing concern in contact sports, prompting two rugby governing bodies to mandate instrumented mouthguards (iMGs). This has resulted in an influx of data imposing financial and time constraints. This study presents two computational methods that leverage a dataset of video-coded match events: cross-cor...

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate head kinematic variables in elite men’s and women’s rugby union and their ability to predict player removal for an off-field (HIA1) head injury assessment. Methods Instrumented mouthguard (iMG) data were collected for 250 men and 132 women from 1865 and 807 player-matches, respectively, and s...

The aim of this study was to investigate the difference in head acceleration event (HAE) incidence between training and match‐play in women's and men's players competing at the highest level of domestic rugby union globally. Players from Women's (Premiership Women's Rugby, Farah Palmer Cup) and Men's (Premiership Rugby, Currie Cup) rugby union comp...

Objective To examine the likelihood of head acceleration events (HAEs) as a function of previously identified risk factors: match time, player status (starter or substitute) and pitch location in elite-level men’s and women’s rugby union matches. Methods Instrumented mouthguard data were collected from 179 and 107 players in the men’s and women’s...

Objectives: To identify a head acceleration event (HAE) severity measure associated with HIA1 removals in elite level rugby union. Methods: HAEs were recorded from 215 men and 325 women with 30 and 28 HIA1 removals from men and women, respectively. Logistical regression were calculated to identify if peak power, maximum principal strain (MPS) and o...

Objectives: To investigate head kinematic variables in elite men's and women's rugby union and their ability to predict player removal for an off-field (HIA1) head injury assessment. Methods: Instrumented Mouthguard (iMG) data were collected for 250 men and 132 women from 1,865 and 807 player-matches, respectively, and synchronised to video-coded m...

Concussions in contact sports are challenging for athletes, health professionals and sporting bodies to prevent, detect and manage. Design of interventions for primary prevention, early recognition of concussion and continuing to improve postconcussion management are essential for protecting athletes and promoting brain health. Over the last decade...

The study aimed to illustrate how contact (from match‐event data) and head acceleration event (HAE) (from instrumented mouthguard [iMG]) data can be combined to inform match limits within rugby. Match‐event data from one rugby union and rugby league season, including all competitive matches involving players from the English Premiership and Super L...

Background The rapid growth of women's rugby union has underscored the need for female-specific player welfare protocols, particularly regarding the risk of head injuries. Instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) play a vital role in gathering comprehensive data on head acceleration events (HAEs), including their frequency, magnitude, and spatial distributi...

Objectives To examine the propensity of tackle height and the number of tacklers that result in head acceleration events (HAEs) in elite-level male and female rugby tackles. Methods Instrumented mouthguard data were collected from women (n=67) and men (n=72) elite-level rugby players from five elite and three international teams. Peak linear accel...

Objectives Tackles making contact above the sternum increase concussion and head injury assessment (HIA) risk in Rugby Union. The sport has introduced harsher sanctions to change tackler behaviours to reduce this risk. This increased high tackle sanction numbers, though it is unknown whether sanction severity is associated with injury risk. Method...

Objectives To describe and compare the incidence and propensity of head acceleration events (HAEs) using instrumented mouthguards (iMG) by playing position in a season of English elite-level men’s and women’s rugby union matches. Methods iMG data were collected for 255 men and 133 women from 1,865 and 807 player-matches, respectively, and synchron...

Background The rugby league tackle has been identified as the game event with the greatest propensity for a clinically diagnosed concussion. This study aims to replicate the work conducted in professional rugby league and rugby union by examining Head Injury Assessment (HIA) events to determine the associated tackle characteristics that increase co...

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the incidence, severity, and burden of injury in starting and replacement players from professional men’s teams of five rugby unions. Methods Match injuries of greater than 24 h time-loss (including data on the severity, match quarter, event, body region) and player minutes of match exposure data wer...

Instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) are a novel technology being used within rugby to quantify head acceleration events. Understanding practitioners' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to their use is important to support implementation and adoption. This study assessed men's and women's rugby union and league iMG managers' perceptions of sta...

Background Despite growing interest in the long-term effects of head acceleration events (HAE) in rugby union (RU) and league (RL), current match exposure guidelines are based on research surrounding injuries. Objective 1) Estimate the expected number of collisions from match event data (video analysis) and HAEs (instrumented mouthguards; iMGs) pe...

Background Head contact is a risk factor for concussion and given the potential long-term health risks from repeated head acceleration events (HAEs), law modification trials as preventative strategies are required. Objective Part 1. Establish important and feasible law modifications to reduce high magnitude HAE and head contact. Part 2. Examine ef...

Background The High Tackle Sanction Framework (HTSF) was implemented at the 2019 Rugby World Cup (RWC), which led to increase awareness and intense global media pre-competition focus and discussion on injury prevention during tackle. Social media platforms such as Twitter are widespread. The dynamic, interconnected, and expressive nature of Twitter...

Background Instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) are a new technology used to quantify head acceleration events. To support the implementation and adoption, practitioners’ perceptions should be investigated. Objective Assess iMG managers’ (iMGM: staff members responsible for implementing iMG) perceptions of club staff and player interest into the techno...

Background Concussion is the most common injury in women’s rugby union, although limited research has investigated head acceleration events (HAEs) using instrumented mouthguards (iMGs). Objective Describe and compare the incidence of HAEs and the proportion of tackles and carries resulting in HAEs in elite level women’s rugby union using iMGs and...

Objective To determine how symptom endorsement, cognitive and balance performance during diagnostic screens after concussion influence return to play time in elite rugby players, with a view to identifying clinical outcomes that may inform concussion management strategies within an individualized rehabilitation concept. Design Retrospective cohort...

Managing training load in rugby union is crucial for optimising performance and injury prevention. Contact training warrants attention because of higher overall injury and head impact risk, yet players must develop physical, technical, and mental skills to withstand the demands of the game. To help coaches manage contact loads in professional rugby...

Objectives The aim of this study was to examine head acceleration event (HAE) propensity and incidence during elite-level men’s and women’s rugby union matches. Methods Instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) were fitted in 92 male and 72 female players from nine elite-level clubs and three international teams. Data were collected during 406 player matche...

Objectives This study analysed the overall sentiment of attitudes, opinions, views and emotions expressed in posts on X related to red-carded and yellow-carded tackles during the 2019 Rugby World Cup (RWC). Methods Sentiment analysis was conducted on posts on X about red or yellow cards issued at the 2019 RWC. Posts were classified as ‘agree’, ‘di...

The dynamic complexity and individualization of running biomechanics has challenged the development of objective and comparative gait measures. Here, we present and explore several novel biomechanical metrics for running that are informed by a canonical inter-species gait template–the spring-mass model. The measures assess running mechanics systemi...

Objectives To evaluate prevention strategies, their unintended consequences and modifiable risk factors for sport-related concussion (SRC) and/or head impact risk. Design This systematic review and meta-analysis was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42019152982) and conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses...

Objective The tackle is the most injurious event in rugby league and carries the greatest risk of concussion. This study aims to replicate previous research conducted in professional men's rugby league by examining the association between selected tackle characteristics and head impact events (HIEs) in women's professional rugby league. Methods We...

This study quantified and compared the collision and non-collision match characteristics across age categories (i.e. U12, U14, U16, U18, Senior) for both amateur and elite playing standards from Tier 1 rugby union nations (i.e. England, South Africa, New Zealand). Two-hundred and one male matches (5911 min ball-in-play) were coded using computerise...

Purpose: To investigate how four types of successfully executed, legal front-on, one-on-one torso tackles influence the tacklers' and ball carriers' inertial head kinematics. Methods: A total of 455 successful front-on, one-on-one torso tackle trials completed by 15 rugby-code players using three-dimensional motion capture were recorded. Tackles...

In rugby league and rugby union, the ball carrier is vulnerable to injury during a tackle. The height of the tackle has been associated with injury risk. The extent to which a ball carrier may alter their approach entering a tackle in response the tackler’s body height is unknown. This exploratory study aimed to identify if, when and how, the ball...

Background The tackle is the most common in-play event in rugby union and rugby league (the rugby codes). It is also associated with the greatest propensity for injury and thus accounts for the most injuries in the sport. It is therefore of critical importance to accurately quantify how tackle technique alters injury risk using gold-standard method...

Background The tackle is the in-game activity carrying the greatest risk for concussion in rugby. A recent evaluation of tackle characteristics in rugby union precipitated a rule modification to reduce head impact risk during tackles. This study aims to replicate the work conducted in rugby union by examining the association between tackle characte...

Tackling is the most common cause of general injuries in rugby union, with player speed and mass identified as risk factors. This study aimed to use multibody modeling simulations to examine how tackler and ball carrier mass and contact speed affect inertial head kinematics and neck dynamics. Simulations were run by independently varying the ball c...

The tackle is the in-game activity with the greatest risk for injury in collision sports. Qualitative match analysis has associated injury risk with tackle technique (e.g. tackle height, head position before contact). This exploratory study used gold-standard three-dimensional (3D) motion capture to investigate whether prior instructions to a tackl...

Background The tackle is the in-game activity carrying the greatest risk for concussion in Rugby. A recent evaluation of tackle characteristics in Rugby Union precipitated a rule modification to reduce head impact risk during tackles. This study aims to replicate the work conducted in Rugby Union by examining the association between tackle characte...

Objectives Current off-field concussion screening instruments have sub-optimal accuracy and additional testing domains may be necessary to detect the full spectrum of concussion presentations. This study aimed to determine if additional cognitive tests add utility to off-field screening for sport-related concussion. Design Reproducibility and diag...

Background/aim Clinical judgement is a recognised component of a complete off-field concussion assessment. This study identifies guidance criteria for team medical staff when using clinical judgement in their decision-making process during the World Rugby off-field concussion-assessment screen (HIA1). Methods Retrospective study of examining docto...

Background: The Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) is recommended to screen for concussion following head impact events in elite sport. The most recent 5th edition (SCAT5) included a 'rapid neurological screen' which introduced new subtests examining comprehension, passive neck movement, and diplopia. This study evaluated the additional diag...

Objectives This study assessed the mass of international rugby players in the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups between 1991 and 2019. The objective was to quantify changes in mass of players by position, and to compare changes between men and women, and between established (Tier 1 (T1)) and emerging (Tier 2 (T2)) rugby nations. Setting Rugby Wor...

Objective: This study compared Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) performance in elite male (6288 players) and female (764 players) rugby players, to determine whether reference limits used for the management and diagnosis of concussion should differ between sexes. Design: Cross-sectional census sample. Setting: Data from World Rugby's H...

Background: Rugby Union requires annual baseline testing using the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT5) as part of its head injury assessment protocols. Scores achieved during baseline testing are used to guide return-to-play decisions at the time of head impact events during matches, and concussion diagnosis during subsequent diagnostic scre...

Objectives This study assessed whether concussion affects subsequent baseline performance in professional rugby players. Annual baseline screening tests are used to guide return-to-play decisions and concussion diagnosis during subsequent screens. It is important that baseline performances are appropriate and valid for the duration of a season and...

Objectives Rugby Union has adapted the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) into an abridged off-field concussion screen and the complete SCAT is used during diagnostic screens performed after head impact events. No firm guidelines exist as to what should be considered “abnormal” and warrant further evaluation. This study evaluates SCAT perform...

Using an expert consensus-based approach, a rugby union Video Analysis Consensus (RUVAC) group was formed to develop a framework for video analysis research in rugby union. The aim of the framework is to improve the consistency of video analysis work in rugby union and help enhance the overall quality of future research in the sport. To reach conse...

Background: Off-field screening tools, such as the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT), have been recommended to identify possible concussion following a head impact where the consequences are unclear. However, real-life performance, and diagnostic accuracy of constituent sub-tests, have not been well characterized. Methods: A retrospective...

Objectives Most concussions in rugby union occur during tackles. We investigated whether legislating to lower maximum tackle height would change tackle behaviour, and reduce concussion incidence rate. Methods In a single group intervention, 12 elite men’s teams played in two competitions during the 2019/2020 season. The Championship (control, 90 g...

Objectives: The vast majority of rugby union ('rugby') participants are community-based players; however, the majority of injury surveillance studies reported relate to the elite, professional game. A potential reason for this dearth of studies could be the perceived difficulty of using the consensus statement for injury recording at the community...

In the original article [1] reference was made to the Hawk-Eye system having been used as the sideline operating system during the 2015 season. This reference was inaccurate; the data included in this study came from either commercial or non-commercial video systems used at the matches played during the 2015 season. The Hawk-Eye system is mentioned...

Purpose: The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between certain neuromuscular and spatiotemporal biomechanical factors associated with running economy. Methods: Thirty trained runners performed a 6-minute constant-speed running set at 3.3 m∙s-1, where oxygen consumption was assessed. Overground running trials were also performe...

Background Sideline video review has been increasingly used to evaluate risk of concussive injury during match play of a number of collision sports, with the view to reducing the incidence of match play concussion injuries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of sideline video review for identifying and evaluating head impac...

The aim of the present study was to analyse men's and women's world records across the full range of running disciplines to contextualise the recent debate about the possibility of a sub-2 hour marathon. The average male-female gap is currently 11.2 ± 1.0% for all running events. However, reducing the marathon time to below two hours would produce...

Background/aim Concussion, the most common injury in professional rugby union, occurs most commonly during the tackle. Thus, we investigated the association between tackle characteristics and concussion. Methods 182 video clips of tackles leading to clinically diagnosed concussion and 4619 tackles that did not were coded across three professional...

Introduction: Many factors may contribute to running-related injury. These include fatigue and footwear, the combination of which has rarely been studied, in particular with reference to barefoot running, recently advocated as a method to reduce injury risk. Methods: Twenty-two runners (12 well-trained and 10 trained) participated in a 10 km fat...

Objectives: To establish normative reference data for the SCAT3 in professional Rugby Union players. Design: A cross sectional study in professional Rugby Union players competing in national and international professional competitions between 2015 and 2016. Methods: The SCAT3 was administered pre-season or prior to tournaments. Data was collec...

Running has been plagued with an alarmingly high incidence of injury, which has resulted in the exploration of interventions aimed at reducing the risk of running-related injury. One such intervention is the introduction of footwear that mimics barefoot running. These have been termed minimalist shoes. Minimalist footwear aims to reduce the risk of...

Objectives Concussion is the most common match injury in professional Rugby Union, accounting for 25% of match injuries. The primary prevention of head injuries requires that the injury mechanism be known so that interventions can be targeted to specifically overall incidence by focusing on characteristics with the greatest propensity to cause a he...

Objectives: The tackle is responsible for the majority of head injuries during rugby union. In order to address head injury risk, risk factors during the tackle must first be identified. This study analysed tackle characteristics in the professional game in order to inform potential interventions. Methods: 464 tackles resulting in a head injury...

Objective Interventions to reduce head injury range from law changes to technique training and education. The effective targeting of such interventions requires that the mechanism of injury be well understood. This study describes the events contributing to head injuries in Rugby Union. Design An observational study with a cohort comprised of six...

Either central (brain) or peripheral (body physiological system) control mechanisms, or a combination of these, have been championed in the last few decades in the field of Exercise Sciences as how physiological activity and fatigue processes are regulated. In this review, we suggest that the concept of ‘central’ or ‘peripheral’ mechanisms are both...

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to characterise the cerebral oxygenation (Cox) response during a high-intensity interval training session in Kenyan runners, and to examine any relationship with running performance. Methods15 Kenyan runners completed a 5-km time trial (TT) and a Fatigue Training Test on a treadmill (repeated running bouts of 1-...

Impact loading in athletes participating in various sports has been positively associated with increased bone mineral density (BMD), but this has not been investigated in elite Kenyan runners. Body composition and site-specific BMD measures quantified with dual x-ray absorptiometry were measured in 15 elite male Kenyan runners and 23 apparently hea...

This critical review article describes the exercise performance capabilities, and the effect of exercise training interventions, in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct and Google Scholar databases from the earliest possible date to December 201...

Background The loads to which professional rugby players are subjected has been identified as a concern by coaches, players and administrators. In November 2014, World Rugby commissioned an expert group to identify the physical demands and non-physical load issues associated with participation in professional rugby. Objective To describe the curre...

It has recently been proposed that the tackle, an integral part of Rugby Union, be banned in school rugby, as a means to reduce the risk of injury. This proposal held that harmful contact should be removed in response to what was termed an unacceptably high-injury risk. Such a ban would represent a significant intervention that could change the nat...

The aim of this study was to determine whether gait cycle characteristics are associated with running economy in elite Kenyan runners. Fifteen elite Kenyan male runners completed two constant-speed running sets on a treadmill (12 km ·h−1 and 20 km ·h−1). VO2 and respiratory exchange ratio values were measured to calculate steady-state oxygen and en...

Objective: This study investigated bone mineral density (BMD, g/cm), fat mass (FM, kg), and fat-free soft tissue mass (FFSTM, kg) in Paralympic athletes with cerebral palsy (CP) using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Methods: Bone mineral density, BMD Z scores (standard deviations), FM, and FFSTM were measured for the whole body and at the lumb...

Runciman P, Tucker R, Ferreira S, Albertus-Kajee Y, Micklesfield L, Derman W: Site-specific bone mineral density is unaltered despite differences in fat-free soft tissue mass between affected and nonaffected sides in hemiplegic paralympic athletes with cerebral palsy: preliminary findings. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2016;00:00Y00. Objective: This study...

The relationship between muscle co-activation and energy cost of transport and risk of injury (initial loading rate and joint stiffness) has not been jointly studied. Fourteen elite Kenyan male runners were tested at two speeds (12 and 20 km · h−1), where oxygen consumption, kinematic, kinetic and electromyography were recorded. Electromyography of...

Background: Barefoot running is of popular interest because of its alleged benefits for runners, including reduced injury risk and increased economy of running. There is a dearth in understanding whether all runners can gain the proposed benefits of barefoot running and how barefoot running may affect long-term injury risk. Purpose/Hypothesis: The...