The locomotive requirements during Rugby Union competition:
A review of the literature
Brad
1,2
Mayo, Peter
1School
1
Maulder, and
Shaun
1
Paterson
of Sport & Exercise Science, Wintec, Hamilton, New Zealand
2 Waikato Rugby Union, New Zealand
BACKGROUND
•In order to produce a specific strength and conditioning programme for
Rugby Union athletes, practitioners need to recognise the specific
physiological, locomotive and kinematic requirements of Rugby Union
competition. To quantify the match demands of Rugby Union competition,
video based time-motion analysis (TMA) and more recently global
positioning systems (GPS) have been utilised by researchers.
Aim
The purpose of the review was to identify the
locomotive requirements during Rugby Union
competition
Table 1: The locomotive requirements during Rugby Union competition
Author
Participants
Deutsch et al. (1998)
24 Amateur players
Duthie et al. (2006)
28 Franchise players
Roberts et al. (2008)
5 Franchise games
Analytical device
TMA
TMA
2 Franchise players
GPS
Austin et al. (2011)
20 Franchise players
TMA
17 Amateur players
Higham et al. (2012)
19 International sevens
players
Cahill et al. (2013)
98 Franchise players
GPS
GPS
GPS
Max Speed
(km/h)
Metres per minute
(m-min)
FR: 4,400
FR: 63
IB: 5,530
IB: 79
F: 30.6
TMA
Cunniffe et al. (2009)
Venter et al. (2011)
Total distance
(m)
B: 33.9
F: 5,581
F: 70
B: 6,127
F: 6,680
B: 76
F: 68
B: 7,227
FR: 5,139
F: 26.3
B: 28.7
B: 72
FR: 64
IB: 6,389
F: 4,469
F: 23.0
IB: 80
F: 64
B: 4,597
B: 33.1
B: 66
Int : 1,694
Int: 30.6
Int: 121
Dom : 1,680
Dom: 29.2
Dom: 120
F: 5,850
F: 26.3
F: 65
B: 6,545
B: 30.4
B: 71
GPS = Global positioning system , TMA = Time motion analysis, F = Forward, B = Back , FR = Front row, IB = Inside back , Int = International matches, Dom = Domestic matches
Total distance covered during match play
Metres covered per minute of elapsed match play
•Provides a complete measure of total work load during the game.
•The frequency and duration of moderate and high intensity running
distances accurately describe the game requirements.
•Reported to range between 4,400m and 7,227m (see Table 1).
•An appreciation of volume represented by total distance covered provides
an understanding of the required recovery modalities between trainings
and games.
•Metres per minute (m-min) is an expression of work rate during
competition.
•This measure takes into account game length and total distance covered.
•This measure gives an indication of what maximum values of locomotor
activities players experience during match play.
•M-min has been reported to range between 62 m-min and 120 m-min in
Rugby Union competition (see Table 1).
•Practitioners can recognise intensity during competition and replicate it
during the training environment.
Maximum running speed during match play
•It has been shown that running speed over varying distances is fundamental
to success at all levels of competition.
•Maximum running speed has been reported to range between 22 km/h and
34 km/h during competition (see Table 1).
•These findings have implications for coaches and practitioners specifically
when attempting to provide game and position specific speed training
programs.
Future research considerations
•Investigate match requirements utilising GPS between levels of
competition such as Club rugby, ITM Cup, Super Rugby and International
Rugby.
•Investigate variables such as number of high intensity efforts > 15 km/h,
high intensity efforts per minute, number of sprints > 20 km/h and sprints
per minute.
•Expression of assessment speed relative to match speed may provide
added benefit.
CONCLUSIONS
•Match requirements of Rugby Union competition provide coaches and
practitioners with quantifiable measures to justify prescription of training.
•Previous research reveals that professional athletes have greater
locomotive requirements when compared with their semi professional
counterparts.
•Such information is important as it could aid in player progression from
semi-professional to professional level.
•There is a need for ongoing analysis of developmental pathways to
adequately prepare players for the demands of professional competition.
Acknowledgements
•Waikato Rugby Union & Wintec
Practical take home message
The comparison of semi-professional and
professional rugby competitions is important
to aid player progression and implement
training programs based around the
locomotive requirements of match play