Key Points: 1. Weekly exposure: For the highest age grade, matches accounted for 65% of the total weekly head acceleration events (HAEs); however, match contribution decreases steadily with age such that it was 56% in U19, 44% in U15 and just 41% in U13, likely reflecting the difference in match intensity with playing age and maturity. 2. HAE incidence: For all ages, HAEs of 10-29 g had the highest incidence rates (5-12 per player hour), whereas high magnitude (> 30 g) HAEs were rare (1-2 per week). For Premier and U19 players, > 30-g events were three times more likely to occur during matches rather than trainings. 3. Playing age: Compared with other grades, U19 players had the highest prevalence (> 60%) of high-magnitude (> 30 g) HAEs. This was attributed to the intensity of matches in the U19 `1st XV` squads. Conversely, < 30% of U13 players experienced high-magnitude HAEs during match play. 4. HAEs by position: The weekly HAE incidence rate was higher for forwards compared with backs. The positional difference was largest at low magnitudes in older players for match exposure, with younger players (U13) showing no significant difference between positions. 5. Tackles and rucks: These accounted for over 80% of HAEs during matches. Forwards had a higher prevalence of > 30-g events in rucks but there were no positional differences in the tackle-related > 30-g events.
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