Lay summary
Rugby union is a popular contact sport played by over 8 million players in 132 countries. In New Zealand 80% of active rugby players are juniors. The physical contact and collisions inherent in rugby increase the risk of children being exposed to concussion. The effects of head impacts on children and adolescents represent a significant health issue. The focus of our research is using instrumented mouthguards to accurately assess the number and size of collisions in rugby, along with MRI and cognitive testing, to assess the effect of repeat collisions across a season on player health and wellbeing. During the 2023 Rugby World Cup, World Rugby announced a significant investment in player health through the use of instrumented mouthguards to detect head injuries in professional players. This is not the case for junior players, consequently, very little data exists for juniors in this important area of athlete health and well-being.