Does perceived wellness influence technical-tactical match performance? A study in youth international rugby using...

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Rugby Union Performance Analysis

Background:

• Understanding factors influencing athlete performance is crucial for optimizing training and match strategies.
• Player wellness, encompassing sleep, fatigue, soreness, stress, and mood, is a key consideration in sports.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between daily wellness status and technical-tactical performance in under-18 male rugby union players.
• To differentiate the impact of wellness on performance between forwards and backs.

Main Methods:

• Subjective wellness questionnaires were administered to 133 players across five national squads during the under-18 Six Nations competition.
• Technical-tactical performance was quantified using key performance indicators coded during match-play.
• Partial least squares correlation analysis (PLSCA) and linear mixed-effect models were used to analyze the data.

Main Results:

• Perceived wellness status significantly influenced technical-tactical performance in forwards (p=0.042), accounting for 4.9% of the variance.
• The relationship between wellness status and technical-tactical performance was not statistically significant in backs (p=0.120), accounting for 1.9% of the variance.
• The models explained a limited amount of variance, suggesting other factors also contribute to performance.

Conclusions:

• Subjective wellness status appears to be a relevant factor influencing technical-tactical match performance in elite youth rugby, particularly for forwards.
• The practical significance of these findings requires cautious interpretation due to the relatively small variance accounted for in performance.
• Further research could explore additional variables impacting technical-tactical performance in rugby players.