Abstract
Historically, non-career-ending traumatic rugby injuries have been defined, researched, and
treated from a predominantly biological perspective. However, dimensional approaches (e.g.,
the bio-psycho-social model) have highlighted the need to incorporate both psychological and
social dimensions into understanding the effects of traumatic rugby injuries on the entire
lebenswelt of the individual experiencing them. Recently, certain research has outlined a
general stage-wise process or progression that traumatically injured sports people, including
rugby players, seem to experience as a result of being injured. Generally speaking, these stages
comprise reactions to the onset of the traumatic injury, emotional reactions to the injury, and
the subsequent rehabilitation processes leading to recovery.
The aim of the present study was to describe the lived experiences of traumatically
injured South African Super Rugby players. Hence, it was decided that the employment of a
qualitative, descriptive phenomenological methodology was well suited to achieving this
general research aim. Purposive sampling was employed apropos the research participants (i.e.,
three participants who had sustained a traumatic rugby injury while competing in the 2017
Super Rugby competition were selected). Each participant was required to be between the ages
of 24 and 30 years old. This age group was chosen in an attempt to maintain a degree of
consistency between the possible psychosocial experiences described by the participants.
Open-ended interviews were conducted in order to gather information, while allowing for as
much spontaneity and authenticity in the participant responses as possible.
This study produced a variety of rich descriptions of the experience of a traumatic
rugby injury from the perspectives of the three traumatically injured South African Super
Rugby player participants. Common themes indicate that the experience of a traumatic rugby
injury can be seen to exist within three stages, that is, initial reactions to the traumatic injury /
injury onset, emotional reactions to the traumatic injury and subsequent reactions to the
traumatic injury (including the rehabilitation process).
Each of the stages comprises various sub-themes (i.e., the traumatically injured South
African Super Rugby player attempts to remain positive about the injury, while appraising the
severity of the injury). Emotional reactions include fear responses to the need for surgical
interventions, and to the possibility of financial losses concomitant with feelings of loss related
to foregone career opportunities. Subsequently, the traumatically injured South African Super
M.A. (Psychology)