The RFU is constantly engaged with research into player safety. Independent studies are commissioned and the RFU conducts its own research, collaborating with other sports and rugby unions. The RFU believes it is important to share this information and openly publishes the findings.
Ongoing research is critical to making the game safer as it helps shape training course content on good practice and safe techniques across all levels of the game.
For more information what research projects the RFU are currently involved with, to read our published reports and for information on other related rugby research and findings please go to the RugbySafe Research Toolkit.
CRISP
Run in conjunction with the University of Bath, the CRISP Project collects injury data from across the community game. It has three main strands: Adult Men, Age Grade and Adult Women.
The CRISP project is critical to gaining better understanding and providing data in order to compare and assess trends in injury risk across different playing populations and levels of the game. This allows us to better inform injury prevention strategies, such as law/rule changes, so that the safety of the game is improved for those participating.
In order for the CRISP project to be a success, we always need clubs and teams to get involved.
To find out more about CRISP, how to get involved, to read our published reports and for information on other research projects and findings please go to the RugbySafe Research Toolkit.
WRISP
This project collects injury data from the Women’s Premier 15s – the top level of women’s club rugby in England.
The Women’s Rugby Injury Surveillance Project (WRISP) is pivotal in both providing the baseline data needed to assess trends in injury risk, and in guiding further investigation into injuries that are common, severe, or increasing in incidence.
To find out more about WRISP, to read our published reports and for information on other research projects and findings please go to the RugbySafe Research Toolkit.
PRISP
First commissioned by the RFU and Premiership Rugby in 2002, the PRISP Project is an annual study that monitors injury incidence (how often), injury severity (days absence) and injury burden (incidence x severity) in English Premiership clubs and the England senior team.
The main objectives of PRISP are to accurately report the risk of injury in the professional game and to highlight any patterns or trends over time, allowing for the targeted investigation of specific areas of injury risk and the development of evidence-based strategies to reduce injury risk.
To find out more about PRISP, to read our published reports and for information on other research projects and findings please go to the RugbySafe Research Toolkit.
BUCS ISP
The BUCS Injury Surveillance Project (BUCS ISP) collects injury data from the BUCS Super Rugby competition which is the highest level of university rugby in the UK and a potential pathway for university players into elite rugby.
The introduction of this project in the 2017-18 season was seen as an important step in understanding the injury patterns at this level of play. The BUCS Super Rugby competition comprises nine teams and the report provides information on the mean of all teams playing in the league. The methods used in the BUCS Super Rugby injury surveillance project are the same as those used in the Premiership Rugby Injury PRISP and CRISP so that where possible data is comparable.
To find out more about BUCS ISP, to read our published reports and for information on other research projects and findings please go to the RugbySafe Research Toolkit.
