Open letter to secretaries of state for health and for culture, media & sport, 07 February 2021
Open letter to UK CMOs 18 December 2020
SCIC letter to UK CMOs_10 January 2018
Letter from CMO Scotland 10 October 2017
SCIC open letter to UK CMOs 13 July 2017
SCIC questions to UK CMOs 13 July 2017
White AJ, Batten J, Howarth NE … Pollock AM. Imposing compulsory rugby union on schoolchildren: an analysis of English state-funded secondary schools. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 2022;4. download
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Injuries in schools’ rugby: occasional niggles and scrapes? In: Wagg S, Pollock AM, eds. The Palgrave handbook on sport, politics and harm. London: Palgrave Macmillan 2021. 573–606.
White AJ, Robinson S, Anderson E, Bullingham R, Pollock AM, Scoats R. The lack of age representation in the governance of rugby union in England. Sociology of Sport Journal 2019;36:300–10. download
White AJ, Batten J, Kirkwood G, Anderson E, Pollock AM. ‘Pre-activity movement control exercise programme to prevent injuries in youth rugby’: some concerns. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018.
Pollock AM, White AJ, Kirkwood G. Evidence in support of the call to ban the tackle and harmful contact in school rugby: a response to World Rugby. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2017;51:1108–13. download
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Removing contact from school rugby will not turn children into couch potatoes. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2016;bjsports-2016-096220. download
Freitag A, Kirkwood G, Scharer S, Ofori-Asenso R, Pollock AM. Systematic review of rugby injuries in children and adolescents under 21 years. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:511–9. download
Kirkwood G, Parekh N, Ofori-Asenso R, Pollock AM. Concussion in youth rugby union and rugby league: a systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:506–10. download
Pollock AM. Tackling rugby: what every parent should know about injuries. London: Verso; 2014.
Parekh N, Hodges S, Pollock AM, et al. Communicating the risk of injury in schoolboy rugby: using Poisson probability as an alternative presentation of the epidemiology. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2012;46:611–3. download
Nicol A, Pollock AM, Kirkwood G, Parekh N, Robson J. Rugby union injuries in Scottish schools. J Pub Health (Oxf) 2010;33(2):256–61. download
Kirkwood G, Pollock AM. Preventing injury in childhood. BMJ 2008;336:1388–9. download
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Briefing for the Chief Medical Officer on child and adolescent injury surveillance in Scotland and sport. Edinburgh: Centre for International Public Health Policy 2008. download
Pollock AM. Kids’ lives are on the line but rugby won’t listen. The Sunday Times 13 Dec 2020.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Tackle and scrum should be banned in school rugby. BMJ opinion. 26 Sep 2017.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Sport Duty of Care Review: submission. London; May 2016. download
Pollock AM. Take out the tackle from school rugby. The Huffington Post UK. 14 Mar 2016.
Pollock AM. Remove the tackle from school rugby and put in place injury surveillance. Better Health For All. 08 Mar 2016.
Pollock AM. Rugby is dangerous – and we’re not doing enough to protect children who play it. The Conversation. 01 Oct 2015.
Pollock, AM. World Rugby isn’t doing enough to protect young players from head injuries. The Guardian. 22 Sep 2015.
Pollock AM. What schools don’t want you to know about rugby. The Spectator. 22 Nov 2014.
Pollock AM. We have to tackle child injury on the sports field. Herald. 2008.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Injuries in schools’ rugby: occasional niggles and scrapes? In: Wagg S, Pollock AM, eds. The Palgrave handbook on sport, politics and harm. London: Palgrave Macmillan 2021. 573–606.
White AJ, Robinson S, Anderson E, Bullingham R, Pollock AM, Scoats R. The lack of age representation in the governance of rugby union in England. Sociology of Sport Journal 2019;36:300–10. download
White AJ, Batten J, Kirkwood G, Anderson E, Pollock AM. ‘Pre-activity movement control exercise programme to prevent injuries in youth rugby’: some concerns. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018.
Pollock AM, White AJ, Kirkwood G. Evidence in support of the call to ban the tackle and harmful contact in school rugby: a response to World Rugby. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2017;51:1108–13. download
Piggin J, Pollock AM. World Rugby’s erroneous and misleading representation of Australian sports injury statistics. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2016. download
Freitag A, Kirkwood G, Pollock AM. Rugby injury surveillance and prevention programmes: are they effective? BMJ. 2015;350:h1587. download
Freitag A, Kirkwood G, Scharer S, Ofori-Asenso R, Pollock AM. Systematic review of rugby injuries in children and adolescents under 21 years. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:511–9. download
Kirkwood G, Parekh N, Ofori-Asenso R, Pollock AM. Concussion in youth rugby union and rugby league: a systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:506–10. download
Parekh N, Hodges S, Pollock AM, et al. Communicating the risk of injury in schoolboy rugby: using Poisson probability as an alternative presentation of the epidemiology. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2012;46:611–3. download
Nicol A, Pollock AM, Kirkwood G, Parekh N, Robson J. Rugby union injuries in Scottish schools. J Pub Health (Oxf) 2010;33(2):256–61. download
Pollock AM. Kids’ lives are on the line but rugby won’t listen. The Sunday Times 13 Dec 2020.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Tackle and scrum should be banned in school rugby. BMJ opinion. 26 Sep 2017.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Head injuries and concussion in rugby. Briefing to the Rugby Union All Party Parliamentary Group. 28 Nov 2016. download
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Sport Duty of Care Review: submission. London; May 2016. download
Pollock AM. Remove the tackle from school rugby and put in place injury surveillance. Better Health For All. 08 Mar 2016.
Pollock AM. Take out the tackle from school rugby. The Huffington Post UK. 14 Mar 2016.
Pollock AM. Rugby is dangerous – and we’re not doing enough to protect children who play it. The Conversation. 01 Oct 2015.
Pollock, AM. World Rugby isn’t doing enough to protect young players from head injuries. The Guardian. 22 Sep 2015.
Pollock AM. A dangerous game. Scottish Review. 2015.
Pollock AM. What schools don’t want you to know about rugby. The Spectator. 22 Nov 2014.
Pollock AM. Tackling rugby: what every parent should know about injuries. London: Verso; 2014.
Kirkwood G, Pollock AM. Preventing injury in childhood. BMJ 2008;336:1388–9. download
Pollock AM. We have to tackle child injury on the sports field. Herald. 2008.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Injuries in schools’ rugby: occasional niggles and scrapes? In: Wagg S, Pollock AM, eds. The Palgrave handbook on sport, politics and harm. London: Palgrave Macmillan 2021. 573–606.
Wagg S, Pollock AM, eds. The Palgrave handbook on sport, politics and harm. London: Palgrave Macmillan 2021.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Written evidence to “Concussion in sport” parliamentary enquiry, Mar 2021. download
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Children account for almost half of all visits to A&E for sports injuries. The Conversation. 02 Nov 2018.
Kirkwood G, Hughes TC, Pollock AM. Results on sports-related injuries in children from NHS emergency care dataset Oxfordshire pilot: an ecological study. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 2018. download
White AJ, Batten J, Kirkwood G, Anderson E, Pollock AM. ‘Pre-activity movement control exercise programme to prevent injuries in youth rugby’: some concerns. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Tackle and scrum should be banned in school rugby. BMJ. 26 Sep 2017.
Pollock AM, White AJ, Kirkwood G. Evidence in support of the call to ban the tackle and harmful contact in school rugby: a response to World Rugby. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2017;51:1108–13. download
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Head injuries and concussion in rugby. Briefing to the Rugby Union All Party Parliamentary Group. 28 Nov 2016. download
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Sport Duty of Care Review: submission. London; 2016 May. download
Pollock AM. Remove the tackle from school rugby and put in place injury surveillance. Better Health For All. 08 Mar 2016.
Piggin J, Pollock AM. World Rugby’s erroneous and misleading representation of Australian sports injury statistics. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2016. download
Pollock AM. Take out the tackle from school rugby. The Huffington Post UK. 14 Mar 2016.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Removing contact from school rugby will not turn children into couch potatoes. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2016;bjsports-2016-096220. download
Pollock AM. Time to tackle brain injury in rugby at all levels. The Irish Times. 06 Oct 2015.
Pollock AM. Rugby is dangerous – and we’re not doing enough to protect children who play it. The Conversation. 01 Oct 2015.
Pollock, AM. World Rugby isn’t doing enough to protect young players from head injuries. The Guardian. 22 Sep 2015.
Freitag A, Kirkwood G, Pollock AM. Rugby injury surveillance and prevention programmes: are they effective? BMJ. 2015;350:h1587. download
Freitag A, Kirkwood G, Scharer S, Ofori-Asenso R, Pollock AM. Systematic review of rugby injuries in children and adolescents under 21 years. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:511–9. download
Kirkwood G, Parekh N, Ofori-Asenso R, Pollock AM. Concussion in youth rugby union and rugby league: a systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:506–10. download
Pollock AM. A dangerous game. Scottish Review. 2015.
Parekh N, Hodges S, Pollock AM, et al. Communicating the risk of injury in schoolboy rugby: using Poisson probability as an alternative presentation of the epidemiology. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2012;46:611–3. download
Nicol A, Pollock AM, Kirkwood G, Parekh N, Robson J. Rugby union injuries in Scottish schools. J Pub Health (Oxf) 2010;33(2):256–61. download
Pollock AM. We have to tackle child injury on the sports field. Herald. 2008.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Injuries in schools’ rugby: occasional niggles and scrapes? In: Wagg S, Pollock AM, eds. The Palgrave handbook on sport, politics and harm. London: Palgrave Macmillan 2021. 573–606.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Injuries in schools’ rugby: occasional niggles and scrapes? In: Wagg S, Pollock AM, eds. The Palgrave handbook on sport, politics and harm. London: Palgrave Macmillan 2021. 573–606.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Children account for almost half of all visits to A&E for sports injuries. The Conversation. 02 Nov 2018.
Kirkwood G, Hughes TC, Pollock AM. Results on sports-related injuries in children from NHS emergency care dataset Oxfordshire pilot: an ecological study. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 2018. download
White AJ, Batten J, Kirkwood G, Anderson E, Pollock AM. ‘Pre-activity movement control exercise programme to prevent injuries in youth rugby’: some concerns. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Tackle and scrum should be banned in school rugby. BMJ oipinion. 26 Sep 2017.
Pollock AM, White AJ, Kirkwood G. Evidence in support of the call to ban the tackle and harmful contact in school rugby: a response to World Rugby. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2017;51:1108–13. download
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Sport Duty of Care Review: submission. London; May 2016. download
Pollock AM. Remove the tackle from school rugby and put in place injury surveillance. Better Health For All. 08 Mar 2016.
Pollock AM. Take out the tackle from school rugby. The Huffington Post UK. 14 Mar 2016.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Removing contact from school rugby will not turn children into couch potatoes. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2016;bjsports-2016-096220. download
Pollock AM. Rugby is dangerous – and we’re not doing enough to protect children who play it. The Conversation. 01 Oct 2015.
Pollock, AM. World Rugby isn’t doing enough to protect young players from head injuries. The Guardian. 22 Sep 2015.
Freitag A, Kirkwood G, Scharer S, Ofori-Asenso R, Pollock AM. Systematic review of rugby injuries in children and adolescents under 21 years. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:511–9. download
Kirkwood G, Parekh N, Ofori-Asenso R, Pollock AM. Concussion in youth rugby union and rugby league: a systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:506–10. download
Smith D, Kirkwood G, Pott J, Kourita L, Jessop V, Pollock AM. Childhood injury in Tower Hamlets: Audit of children presenting with injury to an inner city A and E department in London. Injury, Int J Care Injured. 2015;45:1131-1136. download
Parekh N, Hodges S, Pollock AM, et al. Communicating the risk of injury in schoolboy rugby: using Poisson probability as an alternative presentation of the epidemiology. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2012;46:611–3. download
Kirkwood G, Parekh N, Pollock AM. Preventing injury in children and adolescents. Trauma 2010;12:221–38. download
Nicol A, Pollock AM, Kirkwood G, Parekh N, Robson J. Rugby union injuries in Scottish schools. J Pub Health (Oxf) 2010;33(2):256–61. download
Kirkwood G, Pollock AM. Preventing injury in childhood. BMJ 2008;336:1388–9. download
Pollock AM. We have to tackle child injury on the sports field. Herald. 2008.
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Briefing for the Chief Medical Officer on child and adolescent injury surveillance in Scotland and sport. Edinburgh: Centre for International Public Health Policy 2008. download
White AJ, Batten J, Kirkwood G, Anderson E, Pollock AM. ‘Pre-activity movement control exercise programme to prevent injuries in youth rugby’: some concerns. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018.
Pollock AM, Gorely T, Wheaton B, Wagg S, Grey M, Morrissey D, et al. Written submission to the House of Commons Health Committee Inquiry into the impact of physical activity and diet on health. 2014. download
Howarth NE, Lancaster J, Kirkwood G, Pollock AM. Gulf Region: unintentional injuries. RoSPA 2022. download
Lancaster J, Kirkwood G, Howarth NE, Pollock AM. Statistical insights for RoSPA. RoSPA 2022. download
Pollock N, Kirkwood G, Pollock AM. Identifying accidental harms. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Newcastle University 2019. download
Kirkwood G, Hughes TC, Pollock AM. Unintentional injury in England: an analysis of the emergency care data set pilot in Oxfordshire from 2012 to 2014. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 2016;jech-2016-207581. download
Kirkwood G, Hughes TC, Pollock AM. Injury surveillance in Europe and the UK. BMJ. 2014;349:g5337. download
Freitag A, Kirkwood G, Pollock AM. Rugby injury surveillance and prevention programmes: are they effective? BMJ. 2015;350:h1587. download
Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Briefing for the Chief Medical Officer on child and adolescent injury surveillance in Scotland and sport. Edinburgh: Centre for International Public Health Policy 2008. download
Wragg S. Sport injury: tackling life in a competitive society. Leeds Beckett University 18 Oct 2017
Response by Martin Raftery, CEO of World Rugby, to World Rugby's erroneous and misleading representation of Australian sports’ injury statistics
Press release - ban tackling in school rugby
Note on data on children's rugby injuries
Open letter on preventing injury in school rugby 01 March 2016
Royal College of Emergency Medicine and Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents - Action on accidents to relieve pressure on A&E
Injury research influences UK sports strategy
Science Mixtape. The horror of rugby 31 Oct 2015
Stokes K. Concussion in professional rugby: short and medium term clinical outcomes and subsequent injury risk. Conference of the Rugby World Science Network 15-16 Sep 2015.
The Scotsman. Concerns over lack of school rugby injury research. 23 Apr 2015
BBC. School rugby plan 'too dangerous'. 22 Apr 2015
Boots WebMD. Injury concerns over more school rugby. 22 Apr 2015
BT.com. Kids rugby drive sparks injury fear. 22 Apr 2015
Burton Mail. Is rugby too dangerous for schools? 22 Apr 2015
Mail Online. Children 'should be BANNED from playing rugby at school': Researchers say one in EIGHT will suffer serious injury on the field. 22 Apr 2015
The Times. School rugby promotion ‘will lead to more injuries’. 22 Apr 2015
Western Morning News. Kids rugby drive prompts academics to warn of injury fears. 22 Apr 2015
Newstalk ZB. UK academic praises NZ's focus on injury prevention. 22 Apr 2015
The Telegraph. School rugby harms children and should not be promoted, says prof. 21 Apr 2015
BMJ Editor's Choice. NHS is not (yet) in crisis, but what about school rugby? 09 Jan 2015
The Scotsman: Expert warns of child injuries playing rugby 21 Dec 2014
The Spectator: What schools don't want you to know about rugby. 22 Nov 2014
Radio New Zealand. Is rugby getting too dangerous for children? 20 Oct 14
STV. News. Book ignites fresh debate over the safety of sport in schools 30 Sep 14
Reviewers' comments on Pollock AM, White AJ, Kirkwood G. Evidence in support of the call to ban the tackle and harmful contact in school rugby: a response to World Rugby. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2017;51(15):1113-7.
Review one - Reviewers one, two, and three plus response 28 Oct 2016
Review two - Reviewer one plus response 22 Dec 2016
Review two - Reviewer two plus response 22 Dec 2016
Review three - Reviewer one plus response 21 Mar 2017
Review three - Reviewer two plus response 08 Mar 2017
Comment from Dr Alan Carson on Pollock AM, Kirkwood G. Tackle and scrum should be banned in school rugby. BMJ Opinion 2017.
Dr Alan Carson. Comments: Tackle and scrum should be banned in school rugby