Rugby World Cup: why hamstring injuries are so prevalent in the sport

Description

With the men's Rugby World Cup in France almost upon us, the risk of injury during the summer warm-up games has been a serious concern for coaches and players.

While injuries are a feature of any contact sport, our new research shows that the imbalance in size between the quadriceps and hamstrings muscle groups is greater in rugby players than those of active people who don't play the sport, which increases the risk of injuries, even in training.

Soft tissue injuries, particularly hamstring injuries, have already ruled several players out of the World Cup, raising questions about why such incidents are so common.