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Quantifying Offense and Defense Workloads in Professional Rugby Union
Luke J Stevens1, Will G Hopkins2, Jessica A Chittenden3
1Te Huataki Waiora School of Health, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
|January 3, 2024
Summary
Understanding rugby workloads is key for training. Offensive play increases locomotion and contact demands, with forwards and backs experiencing different physical requirements, especially with fatigue.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Biomechanics
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Rugby union is a physically demanding contact sport.
- Understanding player workloads is crucial for effective training program design.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify factors influencing locomotion and contact workloads during offensive and defensive phases of play in professional rugby union.
- To identify differences in physical demands based on type of play, player position, and match outcome.
Main Methods:
- Collected locomotion and contact data using global positioning system (GPS) units and video analysis for 31 professional rugby players over 14 games.
- Utilized a generalized mixed-model procedure to analyze data, considering factors like type of play, position, match outcome, and ball-in-play time.
Main Results:
- Offensive play significantly increased locomotion and contact metrics for both forwards and backs compared to defensive play.
- Forwards exhibited substantially lower locomotion and higher contact metrics than backs on both offense and defense.
- Fatigue, indicated by ball-in-play time, led to significant increases in workloads across most metrics for both player types.
Conclusions:
- Novel findings highlight increased physical demands during offensive rugby union play.
- Significant differences in workload exist between player positions (forwards vs. backs) and are influenced by match outcomes.
- These insights can inform the design of targeted and effective training strategies for rugby players.
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