I would be really curious to see a long term study.

Based on the short term immediate decline they observed, it does seem like there must be some recovery after the season. Just the compounding effects after a handful of seasons seem like they would be very noticeable.

But I’d also be surprised if any recovery were totally complete, either.

I loved playing rugby, and would be sad to see results similar to football, but I’m trying to be open-minded about the long term results.