Running demands in club, regional, national, and international provincial New Zealand rugby union competitions

The demands of national and international professional rugby union matches are well established, however, there has not been a comparative study investigating running demands in New Zealand teams playing in club (amateur), Heartland Championship (semi-professional Div 2), the Mitre 10 Cup (semi-professional Div 1) or Super Rugby (professional) competitions. This information could enable specific training and rehabilitation that programmes to be developed to meet the needs of players in the different competitions. Players wore 10 Hz GPS units during games for one rugby season to determine absolute (m) and relative (m.min‾¹) measures for total distance, running volume (∼≥7 km·h‾¹) and high intensity running (∼≥16 km·h‾¹). There were typically minimal differences (1–2 m.min‾¹) in running distance measures between amateur level front row forwards and inside backs compared to players in these positions at higher levels of competition. Therefore, amateur players in these positions may find the transition to higher competitions less challenging with respect to running load. In contrast, amateur outside backs and back row forwards may find the increased pace of higher levels of competition more challenging due to typically covering significantly less running and high intensity running distances in amateur games. Differences for half backs were more variable between the levels of competition. Based on our results, it cannot be assumed that amateur rugby has lower running demands than higher competitions or that there is a continuum of increased running demands with increasing competition levels, as some playing positions in the semi-professional (Div 2) (second lowest level of competition) team recorded the largest values for total distance, running and high intensity running. Therefore, the specificity of running demands in a position and competition need to be considered individually for each player when transitioning between competitions. The practice and perception of returning a professional player to amateur club rugby due to the belief that running loads being lower may also be flawed, as we found considerable positional variation in running demands within-and-between competitions

Differences in body composition and performance characteristics of male rugby players that went on to become professionals, compared to players that remained amateur

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate which body composition and physical performance variables characterised players that advanced to professional teams (professionals) and how these variables changed over time compared to those that did not secure professional contracts (i.e. remained amateurs). Methods: Between-player differences in body composition, strength, speed, power and aerobic endurance in 83 male university rugby sport scholarship recipients from 2015-2019 were analysed using Proc Mixed in SAS. Results: When arriving for the first year of the program, forwards that went on to become professional rugby players later in their careers were older (0.4 ± 0.3 yr, mean ± 95% CI), heavier (4.6 ± 2.5 kg) and stronger (range 6.2-16.4%) than forwards that did not gain professional contracts. Professional forwards were also slower at sprinting (range -2.7-2.9%) and had lower Yo-Yo IRT L1 scores (-10.8%) compared to amateur forwards when they first arrived. Backs that went on to become professional players later in their careers were taller (3.5 ± 1.8 cm), heavier (4.6 ± 2.4 kg) and faster over a 20m (-1.9 ± 1.7%) and 30m (-1.7 ± 1.6%) sprint, compared to amateur backs when first arrived on the program. Compared to amateurs, professional players had a smaller increase in body mass (-4.2 ± 2.0%) and greater improvement in sprinting (3.7, 2.8, 2.8% over 10, 20 and 30m) and Yo-Yo IRT L1 performance (14.7 ± 11.0%) over the 3 years training at university. Discussion: Characteristics that are likely to assist rugby players in becoming professionals include being older, heavier, taller and stronger. Compared to amateurs, players that went on to become professionals tended to improve sprint and endurance running performance over their 3 years of training while maintaining skinfold levels. Take home message: Physical prowess is important for potential professional rugby players

Effect of a 6-week exercise intervention for improved neck muscle strength in amateur male rugby union players

Neck strengthening for players in impact sports like rugby is receiving greater attention lately due to postulated associations with head and neck injury and concussion and while research is available on the effectiveness of neck strengthening interventions on professional rugby players, the same research has not been conducted on amateurs who make up the majority of rugby players. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a 6-week neck strengthening intervention on a group of male amateur rugby union players (20.1 ± 2.0 yr, mean ± SD). In a randomized controlled trial, players worked with their trainer to practice neck-specific strengthening exercises 3 times per week for 6 weeks (strength group, n = 22) or performed no additional neck strengthening exercises (control group, n =17). Isometric maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) was measured pre and post the intervention in 4 different directions (flexion, extension, left and right lateral flexion). Compared to the control group the strength group improved neck strength in all directions except flexion (flexion 7.1 ± 13.0 kg, mean ± SD, 75/18/7%, chances of positive/trivial/negative increase in strength, p = 0.28; extension 13.5 ± 14.6 kg, 92/7/1%, p = 0.07; left lateral flexion 13.5 ± 11.3 kg, 97/3/0%, p = 0.02; right lateral flexion 13.8 ± 14.9 kg, 92/7/1%, p = 0.07. Our results indicate that a simple 6-week neck strengthening program improves isometric MVC strength in male amateur rugby players