Tackle technique of rugby union players during head impact tackles compared to injury free tackles

Objectives: The majority of head injuries in rugby union occur during tackles in which the head receives an impact. Head impacted tackles may be a result of poor tackle technique. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyse ball-carrier and tackler technique proficiency in head impacted tackles and compare the technique proficiency to successfully completed tackles in real-match situations. Design: Retrospective video analysis. Methods: Video footage of head impacts with the 'head impacted player' (n = 157) and the opposing player 'impacting player' (n = 156) were scored for contact technique using a list of technical criteria and compared to contact technique scores of role and tackle-type matched injury-free, successful tackles (n = 170). Results: Ball-carriers contacting their head during front-on head impacted tackles (mean 6.4, 95% CI 5.6-7.1 AU, out of a total score of 14) scored significantly less than the 'impacting player' (mean 8.1, 95%CI 7.1-9.1 AU, p < 0.01, ES = 0.5, small) and successful ball-carriers (successful ball-carrier mean 9.4, 95% CI 8.9-9.9 AU, p <0.0001, ES = 1.1, moderate). Tackler contact proficiency scores during successful front-on tackles (mean 12.3, 95%CI 11.6-12.9 AU, out of a total score of 16) were significantly greater than tackler contact proficiency scores for the 'head impacted player' (mean 9.8, 95%CI 8.6-10.9, p < 0.001, ES = 0.8, moderate) and 'impacting player' (mean 9.3, 95%CI 8.4-10.1, p <0.0001, ES = 1.0, moderate). Conclusions: Both the ball-carrier and tackler have a technical deficiency when there is a head impact in matches. The implication of this finding is that players and coaches need to acknowledge that both the ball-carrier and tackler are responsible for each other's safety during the tackle. (C) 2018 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.