Document is current

Article History

Accepted: 6 March 2026

First Online: 10 April 2026

Declarations

:

: SS’s, CO’s, JT’s and MK’s university roles are partially funded by the Rugby Football League. IJS has received funding from World Rugby. BJ and DV are employed as consultants by the Rugby Football League. BJ is employed in a consultancy capacity by PREM Rugby. MS is part-funded by Leeds Rhinos. GP is employed by the Rugby Football League. CO has consulted for Prevent Biometrics Inc. All other authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with the content of this article.

: JT, SS, CO, KT and BJ conceptualised the research project and designed the study. JT, SS, CO, GP and BJ collected data for the study. All authors were responsible for analysis and interpretation of the results. JT, SS, CO, KT, and BJ drafted the manuscript. All authors critically reviewed and edited the manuscript prior to submission. All authors read and approved the final version.

: This project was approved by the Leeds Beckett University Ethics Committee (REF no. 108638).

: Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, conduct, reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

: All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as Supplementary Information. Anonymised data should be available upon reasonable request.