Epidemiology of Match Injuries in Portuguese Senior Male Rugby Union XV: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background and Objectives: Rugby Union is associated with a high incidence of injuries. Although injury epidemiology has been extensively documented internationally, data from Portuguese rugby remain scarce despite the sport's recent growth and increasing visibility. This study aimed to investigate the incidence, characteristics, and severity of time-loss match injuries, as well as their impact on match availability, in the top tier of Portuguese Rugby Union XV. Materials and Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted during the 2023/2024 Portuguese rugby season. Five of the ten eligible teams competing in the Portuguese Senior Male Rugby Union XV Championship participated in the study. Team medical staff prospectively recorded all time-loss match injuries using a standardized online reporting form. Results: The overall injury incidence was 49.46 injuries per 1000 player-match-hours (95% CI: 39.78-59.68), with a mean injury severity of 12.80 days (SD = 12.17). Lower-limb injuries accounted for 52.2% of all injuries and were associated with the greatest mean time-loss (15.56 days). Bone injuries demonstrated the highest descriptive mean injury severity. However, this finding was based on a small number of cases and should therefore be interpreted with caution. A weak but statistically significant positive correlation was observed between exposure hours and injury severity (r = 0.26, p = 0.011). Conclusions: The findings indicate that injuries in Portuguese top-tier rugby occur predominantly during contact events and in the second half of matches. Lower-limb injuries were the most frequently reported injuries and accounted for the largest proportion of time-loss injuries.