Steps Ahead Ep 6 - Dr Martin Raftery, former CMO of World Rugby

From World Rugby CMO to Workplace Injury Prevention: Martin’s Evidence-Based Approach to Player & Worker Welfare

In this episode of Steps Ahead, Martin discusses his journey from playing professional rugby league with the Sharks while studying medicine to becoming a team doctor and later Chief Medical Officer at World Rugby, focusing on reducing injury risk without changing the fabric of the game.

He explains how injury prevention—especially through load management and understanding fatigue—became central to keeping players on the field, and how working with coaches like Eddie Jones required clear, performance-focused communication and honesty.

Martin outlines the development of World Rugby’s Head Injury Assessment (HIA) process, including temporary head-injury substitutions, global standardization via Player Welfare Standards, and evidence-driven research partnerships and data sharing across multiple competitions and contact sports.

He also applies sports medicine principles to workplace injuries, emphasising early active treatment, pre-employment screening, and implementation, noting major reductions in time-loss injuries when these approaches are adopted.

00:00 Introductions 00:12 Sideline Decision Pressure 00:53 From League to Medicine 01:54 Prevention Mindset Shift 03:36 Working With Eddie Jones 05:31 World Rugby Role Shift 07:02 Load Management Explained 10:43 Why HIA Was Needed 13:14 Building The HIA Protocol 17:57 Standards And Global Data 22:33 Results And New Tech 24:18 Sport Lessons For Work 27:25 Screening And Early Treatment 33:19 Implementation Over Ideas 34:04 Closing Thanks

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