Jonny Wilkinson is the game's highest-profile casualty

Our report shows around 200 players - almost half the players in the league - have been on the casualty list at some point this season.

England international Jonny Wilkinson is the most high-profile, having not played a full game for a year.

But our report reveals the legions of lesser-known players falling victim to the game's growing intensity.

Revealed: Full injury list

Rugby union is a fast, contact sport, so injuries are to be expected.

But backroom staff at the 12 Premiership clubs have told BBC Sport that this season has been the worst on record.

Chris Mallac has more reason to complain than most given he is head of physical preparation at Bath, the worst affected club.

"I've kept track on the number of injuries over the last three years, and I know that in January 2003 we only had three blokes out of a squad of 40 who were out," he said.

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"This year we had 18 out, and I think it just shows the increased demands of professional rugby and the number of games they have to play in a season.

"It tends to accumulate over the years and you tend to see the effects further down the line, not so much at that particular time."

On Thursday, we revealed the growing fears of player burnout from players and their representatives - and our injury list appears to back up their concerns.

Have your say on Scrum V: What's the best way to combat the current glut of injuries?

Mallac said the Premiership was without doubt "the hardest league on players' bodies in the world" and that squads needed to be bigger to cope.

"Having worked in the Super 12 (southern hemisphere's provincial tournament) and now the Zurich Premiership, I can directly compare and contrast the two competitions," he said.

"Super 12 is fast, skilful and it's all very glossy and great to watch but it's nowhere as intense as the Premiership.

The Premiership is definitely the hardest league on players' bodies in the world Bath physiotherapist Chris Mallac More from Mallac

"The amount of bodies at breakdowns and the physicality at them is phenomenal over here."

Jon Callard, the Leeds assistant coach set to join the RFU's National Academy coaching team in the summer, says the high number of games in England also take their toll.

"The number of fixtures means the demands are now far greater - and you're asking for more pounds of flesh from each individual," he said.

"Defences are far harder to unpick because players are quicker, faster, stronger - even the front five (forwards) are making an average of 10-12 tackles a game."

These days players are bench-pressing almost twice as 10 years ago Harlequins' fitness coach Paul Pook Pook on modern fitness regimes

Mallac says teams need bigger squads to deal with the intensity the sport has reached 10 years after it turned professional.

"What may happen over the next few years is that squads may get bigger, so players play fewer games, " he said.

"You might play two weeks and have a week off to let your body recover from accumulated stress, which is probably the biggest factor in injury rates in England."

Top players in England are meant to play a maximum of 32 games a season but on Thursday we revealed that limit was regularly broken.

The game's governing body, the Rugby Football Union, will publish a full audit of player injuries in May.

On Monday: In the final part of our series, former Newcastle owner Sir John Hall talks about how he kick-started the professional era, and Northampton chairman Keith Barwell reveals his idea to split England into 14 regional franchises.

We will also publish the best of your solutions to the key issues facing the sport - with our assessment of whether they can work.