Impact of professionalism on injuries in rugby union

Objectives—To measure the frequency and nature of injuries occurring in com-petitive matches since professionalism was introduced in rugby union. Methods—The cohort study previously conducted in players from senior rugby clubs in the Scottish Borders in 1993–1994 when rugby union was an entirely amateur sport was repeated in 1997–1998. The same injury definition, outcome criteria, and method of calculating playing hours were used. In total, 803 (84%) of 960 eligible players participated, including all 30 adult players who played professionally for th