The Influence of Pitch Surface on Injury Risk in Male, Professional Rugby Union Players

Abstract

Rugby union is one of the most popular team sports in the world, with 9.6 million people participating in 124 countries (World Rugby, 2019). While the popularity of rugby remains high, questions are regularly asked surrounding its higher injury risk in comparison to other sports. World Rugby and its member unions engage in injury prevention research to enable those involved in rugby to make informed choices and mitigate risk, where possible. One risk factor of interest is surface type, due to the increasing use of hybrid and artificial pitches (as opposed to the traditional playing surface of natural grass) across the sport. The focus of this thesis is to add to our understanding of the influence that playing surfaces have upon injury risk in professional men’s rugby.
The first study of this thesis (chapter three) presents the incidence rate, severity, and burden of injuries within domestic and European professional rugby, when played on different surfaces. It identifies a significantly higher severity and burden of injuries on artificial surfaces, with noteworthy differences at the hip/groin, posterior thigh and foot/toe regions. The second study (chapter four) examines this data set (plus two additional seasons) in greater depth, specifically around foot, toe, and ankle injuries. Key outcomes indicate particular significance of foot/toe and ankle injuries to forwards and injuries sustained during scrummaging; both showing significantly greater severity and burden on artificial surfaces in comparison to natural surfaces. Study three (chapter five) is a survey of player footwear choice relating to surface type and player self-rated knowledge of this area. It identifies players’ prioritisation of performance over injury risk when choosing footwear type/configuration/stud length for match play on different surfaces and opens the conversation around current levels of self-rated knowledge of players. Finally, study four (chapter six) observed whether change of surface (either weekly or bi-weekly) for match play influences injury risk in this player cohort. It identifies that regular surface change, particularly on to artificial surfaces, creates significantly greater incidence, severity and burden of injury across multiple anatomical regions and injury mechanism types.
This thesis provides the most extensive analysis to date of injuries across varying pitch surface types in professional men’s rugby union, affirming the importance of including pitch surface type when discussing injury risk factors. The outcomes of this thesis can support decision-making in clinical and research contexts, providing a platform for practitioners to better prepare and manage players on artificial surfaces. It also addresses common questions relating to footwear-surface interactions and the impact of more varied surface types in elite domestic competition, as player safety and duty of care gain increasing attention in professional rugby union.

Date of Award	25 Jun 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Sponsors	Rugby Football Union & Premiership Rugby
Supervisor	Keith Stokes (Supervisor), Sean Williams (Supervisor), Simon Kemp (Supervisor) & Matthew Cross (Supervisor)