Neil Harmon

Rugby is an intensely physical, fast-paced game. It is no surprise that its injury rates are three times higher than those of many other popular games. Here are some tips and advice on how to avoid these potentially very dangerous injuries.

They apply to just about all levels of the game, but in particular under-age rugby players should be careful as they make up the majority of injuries in the game each year.

The most obvious thing to do to ensure safety while playing rugby is to ensure you have all the correct gear and are properly fitted out. A scrum cap can protect forwards from damage to the head or ears. Gum shields protect not only your teeth, but your entire head, and it is crucial that they fit well and are worn.

If not, a concussion is much more likely after a head blow or collision -- the gum shield would absorb the shock between upper and lower jaw. Decent equipment is a must for playing rugby.

Most injuries take place at the start of the season. This suggests that as the season goes on, players' bodies become more conditioned to the physicality of the game. The solution to this is a program of pre-season conditioning, to make sure you are not giving your body a cold start and that it is prepared for the hard knocks it is bound to get on the pitch.

By starting off slowly, and gradually increasing, you are preparing your body appropriately and you will be ready to hit the ground running when the season does start.

Such a program should focus on exercises that strengthen your core muscles, particularly around the spine. Strengthening and controlling these deep muscles is vital to avoiding injury. Maintaining a fit body throughout the season (even if you are not getting your game regularly) will make sure that you stay safe throughout the year.

It is also true that most injuries take place during the second half. Again, this is no surprise: eighty minutes is a long time for your body to be active and constantly under pressure, so many people get tired, or have built up a number of small injuries by the last quarter of the game.

Avoiding injuries here is partly up to the coach, who must watch for tired or limping players and be sure to replace them if possible. But you can also help by being conscious of your own body -- you know it better than anyone else, and if you feel like you are at risk of injury you should have no problem with going off. There is no sense in trying to be a hero at the risk of your health.

Proper coaching and practice is also crucial to avoiding dangerous injuries. Doing things correctly on the pitch will hugely decrease both your chances of sustaining an injury and of causing someone else one.

Tackling properly, knowing how to take a tackle and experience in the scrum are all hugely important to playing the game safely. In particular, tackle drills should be repeated again and again until you have the technique down -- a poor tackle can be one of the most dangerous elements of a game of rugby.

For forwards, the scrum is obviously the source of most injuries. The positions of hooker and prop should be filled by experienced players, as they are at risk of serious neck and spine injuries from a bad scrum. These are just a few basic tips on how to stay safe and avoid injuries in rugby. Look into specific training programs for pre-season to see exactly how to keep your body in its optimum state, and remember that focusing while on the pitch can prevent careless and dangerous tackles.