World Rugby has issued new contact training guidance aimed at reducing injury risks following a global study on almost 600 players.
Rugby.com.au reports that the recommendations suggest a maximum of 15 minutes full contact training per week, across two days.
Mondays and Fridays would have zero full contact training to allow for recovery and preparation.
Controlled contact training is suggested to be limited to 40 minutes per week.
That would include at least one day of zero contact, while live set-piece training will be at no more than 30 minutes per week.
Elite teams such as Leinster, Clermont, Benetton and Southland have signed up and they have partnered with World Rugby to measure the effect of these guidelines by using specific mouth-guards to monitor implementation and measure the outcomes.
The recommendations are based on a comprehensive review of the latest injury data.
On average full contact training currently lasts 21 minutes per week and the average total contact load per week is at 118 minutes.
[Source: Rugby.com.au]
