Centre's Rugby Study promoted at Melrose Sevens Tournament

Earlier this year, members of the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis received an invitation to attend Melrose Sevens tournament in the Scottish Borders.

The tournament, dating from 1883 and home of the first ever rugby sevens tournament, is globally renowned and draws crowds of several thousands of spectators to the small town of Melrose, which is usually home to a population of around two thousand people.

This year Melrose Sevens had chosen the local branch of Arthritis Research UK Melrose to be their charity-partners for the day. Melrose Branch, aware of the Centre and our ongoing work within rugby union, invited researchers to attend.

This event coincided with the launch of a recreational study of rugby players, where Centre researchers based at the University of Oxford, having successfully recruited former Oxbridge University and England Rugby cohorts, are now recruiting recreational rugby players to better understand health, injury and pain in all players.

Study lead and PhD student Madi Davies and Centre Administrator James van Santen made the journey to the Borders for a fantastic weekend of fundraising, recruiting and some excellent rugby.

The weekend was hugely successful in raising the profile of the Charity, the Centre for Sport Exercise and OA and with the branch raising over £2,700 for Arthritis Research UK.

We were able to speak with hundreds of former players about work being undertaken in the Centre examining sports, rugby union and osteoarthritis.

The recreational rugby study is still recruiting all former rugby participants – please contact therugbystudy@ndorms.ox.ac.uk to find out more.

 
Madi Davies (Rugby Study PhD student), James van Santen (Centre Administrator) and Emma MacDonald (Arthritis Research UK Fundraising Manager) join the Arthritis Research UK Melrose Branch Committee

Madi Davies (Rugby Study PhD student), James van Santen (Centre Administrator) and Emma MacDonald (Arthritis Research UK Fundraising Manager)

Arthritis Research UK volunteers and Centre staff promoting the work of the charity at Melrose Sevens (photograph courtesy of Dr Margaret Collin) 

Aberdeen Rugby v Belgium in the second round (photograph courtesy of Dr Margaret Collin)