Injury and concussion rates in male and female youth rugby union players are high, and despite a paucity of studies focused on females, it appears the highest rates of both injury and concussion are reported in females.

The most common injury sites and injury type in youth rugby are lower extremity and ligament sprain in males, and head/ neck and concussion in females, with the tackle being the most common injurious event in matches (males- 55%, females- 71%).

Twenty-three risk factors were reported, with higher levels of play and increasing age displaying the strongest evidence for injury occurrence; however, no female studies examining risk factors were identified.

Only 8 studies were found to evaluate prevention strategies across law changes (n = 2), equipment (n = 4), education (n = 1) and training (n = 1). While neuromuscular training was the most promising strategy, there were no strategies evaluated in a female population.