CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Int J Sports Med 2020; 41(05): 311-317
DOI: 10.1055/a-1068-9501
Training & Testing
Eigentümer und Copyright ©Georg Thieme Verlag KG 2019

Eyewear for Rugby Union: Wearer Characteristics and Experience with Rugby Goggles

1   Centre for Optometry & Vision Science, University of Ulster, Coleraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
,
Fabienne Eckert
1   Centre for Optometry & Vision Science, University of Ulster, Coleraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
,
Marc Douglas
2   World Rugby, Technical Services, Dublin, Ireland
,
Brendan T. Barrett
3   School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History



accepted 14 November 2019

Publication Date:
27 January 2020 (online)

Abstract

Unlike many other sports, Rugby Union has not permitted players to wear spectacles or eye protection. With an industrial partner, World Rugby developed goggles suitable for use while playing rugby for the purposes of growing participation amongst those that need to wear corrective lenses. This study reports on the profile and experiences of goggle wearers. 387 players received the goggles. Data were obtained from 188 (49%) using an online, 75-item questionnaire. 87% “strongly agreed/agreed” that goggles are beneficial and 75% are happy with goggle performance. Common problems reported by 49.7 and 32.6% of respondents were issues with fogging-up and getting dirty. 15 (8%) players stopped wearing the goggles because of fogging-up, limits to peripheral vision and poor comfort/fit. Injuries were reported in 3% of respondents. In none of these cases did the player stop wearing the goggles. From the positive experience of players in the trial, the goggles were adopted into the Laws of the game on July 1, 2019. As the need to correct vision with spectacles is common, and contact lenses are not worn by 80%+of spectacle wearers, the new Rugby goggles will widen participation for those that need to wear refractive correction, or have an existing/increased risk of uniocular visual impairment.

 
  • References

  • 1 Leivo T, Haavisto AK, Sahraravand A. Sports-related eye injuries: the current picture. Acta Ophthalmol 2015; 93: 224-231
  • 2 Ghosh F, Bauer B. Sports-related eye injuries. Acta Ophthalmol Scan 1995; 73: 353-354 doi:10.1111/j.1600-0420.1995.tb00042.x
  • 3 Barr A, Baines P, Desai P. et al. Ocular sports injuries: the current picture. Br J Sports Med 2000; 34: 456-458 doi:10.1136/bjsm.34.6.456
  • 4 MacEwen CJ, McLatchie GR. Eye injuries in sport. Scott Med J 2010; 55: 22-24
  • 5 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Sports and Recreational Eye Injuries. Washington, DC: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; 2000
  • 6 Cass SP. Ocular injuries in sports. Curr Sports Med Rep 2012; 11: 11-15
  • 7 Fong SP. Sports-related eye injuries. Med J Aust 1994; 160: 743-747
  • 8 Dain SJ. Sports eyewear protective standards. Clin Exp Optom 2016; 99: 4-23
  • 9 Kriz PK, David Zurakowski D. et al. Eye protection and risk of eye injuries in high school field hockey. Pediatrics. 2015; 136: 521-527 doi:10.1542/peds.2015-0216
  • 10 Napier SM, Baker RS, Sanford DG. et al. Eye injuries in athletics and recreation. Surv Ophthalmol 1996; 4: 229-244
  • 11 Eime R, Finch C, Wolfe R. et al. The effectiveness of a squash eyewear promotion strategy. Br J Sports Med 2005; 39: 681-685
  • 12 Williams KM, Verhoeven VJ, Cumberland P. et al. Prevalence of refractive error in Europe: the European Eye Epidemiology (E(3)) Consortium. Eur J Epidemiol 2015; 30: 305-315
  • 13 O'Donoghue L, McClelland JF, Logan NS. et al. Refractive error and visual impairment in school children in Northern Ireland. Br J Ophthalmol 2010; 94: 1155-1159
  • 14 World Rugby Player numbers https://www.world.rugby/development/player-numbers accessed March 20, 2019
  • 15 World Rugby Laws https://laws.worldrugby.org/?law=4 accessed July 19, 2019
  • 16 Rodriguez JO, Lavina AM, Agarwal A. Prevention and treatment of common eye injuries in sports. Am Fam Physician 2003; 67: 1481-1488
  • 17 World Rugby Player Welfare Rugby Goggle Performance Specification https://playerwelfare.worldrugby.org/players-equipment-goggles accessed July 19, 2019
  • 18 World Rugby Player Welfare Rugby Goggle Trial 2.0 Report https://playerwelfare.worldrugby.org/?documentid=205
  • 19 Harriss DJ, Macsween A, Atkinson G. Standards for ethics in sport and exercise science research: 2020 update. Int J Sports Med 2019; 40: 813-817
  • 20 BS EN 168:2002 Personal eye-protection. Non-optical test methods https://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030036280
  • 21 Lee AJ, Garrayway WM. Epidemiological comparison of injuries in school and senior club rugby. Br J Sports Med 1996; 30: 213-217
  • 22 Bird YN, Waller AE, Marshall SW. et al. The New Zealand rugby injury and performance project: V. Epidemiology of a season of rugby injury. Br J Sports Med 1998; 32: 319-325
  • 23 MacQueen AE, Dexter WW. Injury trends and prevention in rugby union football. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2010; 9: 139-143 doi:10.1249/JSR.0b013e3181df124c
  • 24 Schick DM, Molloy MG, Wiley JP. Injuries during the 2006 women’s rugby world cup. Br J Sports Med 2008; 42: 227-451
  • 25 Williams S, Trewartha G, Kemp S. et al. A meta-analysis of injuries in senior men’s professional rugby union. Sports Med 2013; 43: 1043-1055
  • 26 Gardner AJ, Iverson GL, Williams WH. et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of concussion in rugby union. Sports Med 2014; 44: 1717-1731
  • 27 Freitag A, Kirkwood G, Scharer S. et al. Systematic review of rugby injuries in children and adolescents under 21 years. Br J Sports Med 2015; 49: 511-519
  • 28 Brown JC, Verhagen E, Knol D. et al. The effectiveness of nationwide BokSmart rugby injury prevention program on catastrophic injury rates. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2016; 26: 221-225
  • 29 Fuller CW, Taylor A, Kemp SP. et al. Rugby World Cup 2015: World Rugby injury surveillance study. Br J Sports Med. 2017; 51: 51-57 doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096275
  • 30 Yeomans C, Kenny IC, Cahalan R. et al. The incidence of injury in amateur male Rugby Union: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2018; 48: 837-848 doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0838-4
  • 31 MacEwen CJ. Sport associated eye injury: a casualty department survey. Br J Ophthalmol 1987; 71: 701-705
  • 32 Lawson JS, Rotem T, Wilson SF. Catastrophic injuries to the eyes and testicles in footballers. Med J Aust 1995; 163: 242-244
  • 33 Carson JD, Roberts MA, White AL. The epidemiology of women’s rugby injuries. Clin J Sport Med 1999; 9: 75-78
  • 34 Gregory PTS. Sussex eye hospital sports injuries. Br J Ophthalmol 1986; 70: 748-750
  • 35 Pandita A, Merriman M. Ocular trauma epidemiology: 10-year retrospective study. N Z Med J 2012; 125: 61-69
  • 36 Euromcontact. A Comparison of European Soft Contact Lens and Lens Care Markets in 2017