Positional running capacities and in-game demands of South African university level rugby players

Abstract

Rugby is a complex contact sport consisting of varying intensities of locomotion, interspersed with stationary and contact periods. An increasing professionalisation of the sport even at university and school level has engendered a growing need to collect objective data regarding the physical attributes of rugby players. The aim of the study was to assess the positional running capacities and demands of university rugby players. Twenty-nine male rugby players (age: 22.5 ± 1.2 years; body mass: 96.1 ± 13.26 kg; stature: 182.6 ± 7.5 cm) completed a battery of tests, which included: 10 m + 40 m sprint, yo-yo intermittent recovery (Yo-Yo IRT), repeated sprint ability test (RSA), and had their in-game running demands evaluated. Positional differences between forwards and backs were reported (p<0.05) for Yo-Yo IRT: 19.2 ± 2 vs 21.1 ± 2; 10 m sprint: 1.7 ± 0.1s vs 1.6 ± 0.0s; 40 m sprint test: 5.4 ± 0.3s vs 5.1 ± 0.1s; 5 m RST: 738.9 ± 31.1m vs 767.3 ± 20.9m. Additionally, a significant difference in-game distances between forwards and the backs (absolute: 5564.1 ± 842.5m vs 6955.9 ± 780.9m; relative: 54.7 ± 9.0 m.min-1 vs 60.6 ± 8.7m.min-1) were obtained. The assessment of university-level rugby players showed that backline players tend to record higher aerobic capacity, acceleration and sprint values than forwards. Evidence has shown that during matches, backs tend to cover more distance and spend more time in each speed band than forwards. The findings were discussed in the light of their implications for competitive rugby performance.