INTERVENTION – WHAT CAN BE DONE

and catastrophic head, neck and spine rugby injuries in South Africa (SA), and to formulate appropriate initiatives aimed at prevention of these injuries.4 Even though spinal cord injuries in rugby union are few, there are inherent risks associated primarily with the tackle and scrum6 that are the main contributors to spinal injuries, with scrum injuries con-sistently being more severe.3–5 7 10 Over the last 4 years in SA, these phases contributed to 78 % of all serious and catastrophic head, neck and spine injuries in rugby, with the tackle and scrum contributing to 41 % and 37 % respectively; 55 % and 74 % of these injuries being permanent in nature, that is, with neurological defi cit, quadriplegia or death. Considering that tackle events are more common in a match, the relative risk of catastrophic outcome in scrums is therefore considerably higher