Rugby (activity, Apparel Or Equipment)
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Sports Protective Equipment & Gear · CPSC Code 3234
Down 37% over 5 years
The verdict
Rugby (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) carry a danger score of 34/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 10,876 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 37% over the last five years.
- 34/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 10,876
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 2.0%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 3234 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 34/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for rugby (activity, apparel or equipment) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume10,876 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)2.0%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-37%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Rugby (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) (CPSC product code 3234, in the Sports Protective Equipment & Gear category) generate an estimated 10,876 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 217,529 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 34/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 37% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2012 (15,270 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (2,418 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for rugby (activity, apparel or equipment) is concussion to the head, accounting for approximately 18,382 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (18,377 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 167,946 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 2.0% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how rugby (activity, apparel or equipment) fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 31 | 0 | |
| 5-14 | 7,386 | 2,321 | |
| 15-24 | 124,170 | 43,591 | |
| 25-34 | 24,997 | 5,958 | |
| 35-44 | 5,586 | 497 | |
| 45-54 | 1,997 | 135 | |
| 55-64 | 540 | 62 | |
| 65-74 | 44 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Concussion | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Face | Fracture | |
| Shoulder | Fracture | |
| Shoulder | Dislocation | |
| Knee | Other | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Ankle | Fracture | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
21YOM GOT ELBOWED IN THE FACE DURING RUGBY PRACTICE REUSLTING IN A FRACTURE TO HIS NOSE. DX: CLOSED FRACTURE OF NASAL BONE
20YOM PRESENT TO ED W/ WOUND TO L EAR.WHILE AT RUGBY PRACTICE PT HIT L EAR CAUSING SMALL LAC.NO SYSTEMIC SX'S.NO BLOOD THINNERS,LAST TETANUS 2014.DX:LAC OF HELIX OF L EAR
20YOF WAS PLAYING IN A RUGBY GAME AND WAS HIT IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD BY A KNEE AND FOOT DX: CONCUSSION
20YOM PRESENT TO ED W/ FACIAL LAC. PT WAS STRUCK IN THE FACE BY THE HEAD OF ANOTHER RUGBY PLAYER LACERATING R SIDE OF LIP.NO LOC OR OTHER INJURIES.DX:FACIAL LAC
21 YOM WITH LEFT KNEE PAIN AND SWELLING. PATIENT IS A RUGBY PLAYER AND NOTES THAT HE HAD SEVERAL HITS TO HIS LOWER LEGS WHEN PLAYING A GAME EARLIER TODAY. DX ACUTE PAIN LEFT KNEE, INJURY LIGAMENT, EFFUSION LEFT KNEE
16YOM,PLAYING RUGBY AN FELL TO GROUND LANDED ONTO SHOULDER,DX:SHOULDER PAIN
26YOF PRESENTS TO THE ED AFTER THE PATIENT HIT HIS HEAD WHILE AT RUGBY PRACTICE PLAYING COMPLAINING OF HEAD PAIN AND HEADACHE. DX: HEAD INJURY, HEADACHE, DIFFICULTY CONCENTRATING
15YOM,PLAYING RUGBY WHEN COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER PLAYER AN HIT KNEE OR SHOE FELL DOWN HIT HEAD,DX:CONCUSSION
15 YOM. HEAD INJURY AFTER BEING LIFTED BY THE ANKLES BY OPPOSING TEAM LANDING ON HIS HEAD WHILE PLAYING RUGBY. DX: CONCUSSION W/O LOC
17YOM,PLAYING RUGBY WHEN ANOTHER PLAYER STRUCK FACE,NOSE,DX:FX NASAL BONE
16YOM,INJURED FACE WHILE PLAYING RUGBY TODAY,DX:FX NASAL BONE
20YOF PRESENTS WITH ANKLE PAIN AFTER ROLLING IT AT RUGBY PRACTICE ONE DAY PRIOR. DX: INJURY OF ANKLE
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to rugby (activity, apparel or equipment) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are rugby (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, rugby (activity, apparel or equipment) have a danger score of 34/100 (low risk). An estimated 10,876 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from rugby (activity, apparel or equipment)?
The most common injury is concussion to the head, accounting for approximately 18,382 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from rugby (activity, apparel or equipment) increasing or decreasing?
Down 37% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for rugby (activity, apparel or equipment) injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 167,946 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by rugby (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Of all ER visits involving rugby (activity, apparel or equipment), approximately 2.0% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (98.0%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with rugby (activity, apparel or equipment)?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Sports Protective Equipment & Gear
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 34/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 15-24 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
