Rotational and peak torque stiffness of rugby shoes

Sports people always strive to avoid injury. Sports shoe designs in many sports have been shown to affect traction and injury rates. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the differing stiffness and torque in rugby boots that are designed for the same effect.

Five different types of rugby shoes commonly worn by scrum forwards were laboratory tested for rotational stiffness and peak torque on a natural playing surface generating force patterns that would be consistent with a rugby scrum.

The overall internal rotation peak torque was 57.75±6.26 Nm while that of external rotation was 56.55±4.36 Nm. The Peak internal and external rotational stiffness were 0.696±0.1 and 0.708±0.06 Nm/deg respectively. Our results, when compared to rotational stiffness and peak torques of football shoes published in the literature, show that shoes worn by rugby players exert higher rotational and peak torque stiffness compared to football shoes when tested on the same natural surfaces. There was significant difference between the tested rugby shoes brands.

In our opinion, to maximize potential performance and lower the potential of non-contact injury, care should be taken in choosing boots with stiffness appropriate to the players main playing role.