A three-year study into French rugby union injuries determines which are the safest and most dangerous positions to play.

Parents worried about their children's safety playing rugby might be advised to encourage them to stay well away from the scrum.

A three-year study of the French national league, the Top 14, has found that props, hookers and scrum halves accounted for a remarkable 43 per cent of all permanent replacements made during games due to injury.

According to specialist website rugbyworld.com, the study, commissioned by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) and Federation Française de Rugby (FFR), discovered that of the 2208 physical incidents that forced players out of games between 2012-13 and 2014-15, the front row - tight head prop, loose head prop and hooker - accounted for more than a quarter.

The study, which was released last week, pointed to hooker as being the most perilous position, tallying the most blood, neck and knee injuries, while halfbacks suffered a high number of various injuries, including muscular, knee and shoulder complaints.

Five-eighths had the highest number of concussions and muscular injuries.

The research found nearly half of all injuries were sustained in tackles (46.6 per cent) and the player being tackled accounted for nearly a third of them. Contrary to popular belief - and the French findings - the scrum only accounted for 2.4 per cent of injuries.

GETTY IMAGES Hurricanes scrum-half TJ Perenara gets a pitchside check-up.

Yet again, though, the numbers can be challenged.

While the Australian findings state that only 4.4 per cent of injuries were concussions, an English project - the England Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance Project - published last year, concluded that, while the overall number of injuries in matches had been on a downward trend in recent times, for the third year running concussion was the most commonly reported problem.

The report into England's Premiership competition stated that the number of reported concussions had soared by 59 per cent in 2013-14 compared to the previous season.