RFL host England Rugby League Coaching, Performance and Medical Conference at Leeds Beckett University

On Wednesday 28 August the RFL hosted the England Rugby League Coaching, Performance and Medical Conference at Leeds Beckett University. The conference saw over 80 delegates from across the game come together to hear from some leading experts from other sports, as well the on-going research from across the sport.

The conference was opened by Dr Dane Vishnubala – the RFLs Chief Medical Officer, and Prof. Ben Jones - the RFLs Strategic Lead for Performance Science & Research. Pete McKnight a Performance Expert with over 20 years experience in various sports, including Formula 1 and numerous Olympic sports was the Keynote Speaker. Pete delivered a masterclass on performance enhancement strategies from F1.

The next session was delivered by Prof. Ben Jones and Dr. Cameron Owen (Researcher Leeds Beckett University & RFL Men’s Pathway Performance Lead) on Reducing Concussion, Injuries and Head Acceleration Events, and included a panel discussion with Dr Ian Sampson (Huddersfield Giants) and Ben Lazenby (Wakefield Trinity). The session covered data from various research projects, including the study which showed how during the 2023 Women Super League season, the rates of head-head collisions were significantly reduced compared to the previous two seasons following a coaching intervention, led by the RFL and evaluated by Leeds Beckett University. The data provided from all areas of the game led to discussions around how this information can inform policy at a game level, and practice at a club level.

Molly Fownes-Walpole (PhD student at Leeds Beckett University & Academy Sports Scientist at Leeds Rhinos) and Pete McKnight delivered a session to the Performance and Medical staff on how to improve the neck strength of players, which is one strategy to reduce head accelerations and concussion risk. This included sharing the recent findings of an international expert consensus study on best practice neck training guidelines, which was led by Molly, in collaboration with a range of international experts from various sports, including Pete.

Russell ‘Rusty’ Earnshaw (Expert Coach Developer working across various sports) and Gemma Grainger (current Norway Women’s Football Head Coach) led the session for Coaches. This session was focused on how to optimize coaching practice for both player performance and development. The roundtable discussion included Wigan Head Coach Matt Peet, the RFL Head of Pathway (men) Paul Anderson and the RFL Head of Pathway (women) and Women’s Head Coach Stuart Barrow, as well as other coaches from across all areas of the game.

Speakers Nav Sandhu (Head of Medical, Sale Sharks) and Huw Roberts (Physiotherapist from International Football) delivered a session to medical staff on how to reduce the risk of injury, whilst optimizing performance. This session provided insights from rugby union and football, which can be translated to rugby league.

Expert speed coach, Dan Grange (Gloucester Rugby, formerly Leeds Rhinos) delivered a session on how to optimize speed in team sport athletes to rugby league Performance staff. Dan provided a comprehensive framework for performance staff to use, enhancing both maximal and evasive speed for rugby players.

The conference was sponsored by the RFLs Instrumented Mouthguard provider Prevent Biometrics, in partnership with Leeds Beckett University.

Commenting on the conference, Prof. Ben Jones said:

"We have a number of ongoing CPD events throughout the year, but this is the only opportunity for everyone from across the game to come together. It’s great that speakers of this caliber were willing to share their expert knowledge with rugby league practitioners, and it was fantastic to see so many people from across the game, including Super League Head Coaches attend the conference."

Dr Dane Vishnubala said:

"It was fantastic to see rugby league coaches, performance and medical staff all come together, sharing and discussing best practice. We have a lot of scientific data in rugby league from the ongoing research studies, and we are now using this to drive education and interventions to improve players welfare and performance. This was the heart of the conference."