Expert Witness Journal Issue 67 June/July 2026 - Flipbook - Page 64
Bristol student-led initiative aims to
transform psychological support in
rugby injury rehabilitation
by University of Bristol.
A new concept designed by Bristol students to
address the psychological wellbeing of injured
athletes was unveiled at the recent University of
Bristol’s Centre for Innovation and Enterprise’s
Innovation Showcase.
Anna said:
The initiative, named Headstrong, seeks to rede昀椀ne
how professional rugby clubs and organisations
approach injury rehabilitation by placing equal
emphasis on a player’s mental, emotional, and
physical recovery.
Co-developed by University of Bristol students Anna
Leppard, Jenna de Vera, and Sam Chevin as part
of their dissertation project, Headstrong explores
a critical research question: How do current injury
rehabilitation practices in professional rugby address the
psychological wellbeing of players, and how might these
practices be improved to support holistic recovery?
Jenna, who is balancing her studies in Film and
Television with Innovation alongside playing elite
rugby for Bristol Bears and the Wales Women’s
rugby team – for whom she made her senior debut
this February – is no stranger to overcoming serious
setbacks having su昀昀ered an ACL injury which forced
her out of the game for 14 months.
While still at the early stage, the trio behind
Headstrong are actively exploring its real-world
potential with plans to present the concept to Bristol
Bears to assess its feasibility within a professional
rugby environment.
“
By working closely with coaching and medical sta昀昀,
the initiative aims to equip organisations with the
tools and knowledge needed to better support athletes
during injury and recovery.”
“
Our focus is on creating meaningful, lasting change,”
added Anna. “Success isn’t just about implementation
- it’s about improving awareness, strengthening
support systems, and ensuring athletes feel genuinely
supported throughout their recovery journey.”
“
There is also a huge bene昀椀t to the clubs in having
this embedded within their approach towards player
welfare because it demonstrates genuine ‘athlete-昀椀rst’
thinking.”
While traditional rehabilitation focuses heavily on
physical recovery, our research looks more broadly at
how injury impacts areas such as identity, routine,
sense of purpose, and overall outlook on life. These
e昀昀ects can be especially signi昀椀cant for elite athletes,
whose lives are often highly structured around
performance.
One concept the team is exploring is the
introduction of an additional assessment during a
player’s onboarding at their club. This would capture
more holistic insights about the individual, such as
how they manage stress, their support networks,
and personal circumstances. The goal would be
to give coaches and support sta昀昀 better context to
support players more e昀昀ectively if and when injuries
occur, with regular check-ins and person-to-person
interaction incorporated into the assessment.
The hope is that this initial step could pave the way
for broader implementation across not just rugby
clubs and organisations worldwide, but other team
sports such as football, and eventually individual
disciplines like golf.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
“
“
The vision is for Headstrong to become a 昀氀exible
protocol or consultancy-style initiative that can be
embedded directly into existing rugby club structures.
62
JUNE 2026
