ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2016
Movement and physical demands of school and university rugby union match-play in England.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Use of Global Positioning and Accelerometer Systems in Age-Grade and Senior Rugby Union: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine - open · 2021Pooled it
- Testing methods and physical qualities of male age grade rugby union players: A systematic review.PloS one · 2020Pooled it
- Sprint Speed Measurement in a National Rugby Union Academy: An Equivalence Study of Three Measurement Systems, Age, and Playing Position.European journal of sport science · 2026Article
- Differences in playing experience, anthropometry and performance measures between Under 16 schoolboy rugby players classified as starters or non-starters: A comparative cross-sectional study.South African journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- New Zealand Youth Rugby Sevens: A Comparative Match Demands Study.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2023Article
- Physical Match Demands of International Women's Rugby Union: A Three-Year Longitudinal Analysis of a Team Competing in The Women's Six Nations Championship.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2023Article
- A comparison of running and contact loads in U18 and U20 international rugby union competition.Biology of sport · 2023Article
- Running demands in club, regional, national, and international provincial New Zealand rugby union competitions.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2022Article
- Epidemiology of Shoulder Injuries in Schoolboy Rugby Union in Ireland.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2021Article
- Lumbar Multifidus Muscle Characteristics, Body Composition, and Injury in University Rugby Players.Journal of athletic training · 2020Article
- Applied Sport Science for Male Age-Grade Rugby Union in England.Sports medicine - open · 2020Review
- Coaches' perceptions on qualities defining good adolescent rugby players and are important for player recruitment in talent identification programs: the SCRuM project.BMC research notes · 2019Article
- High-school adolescents' motivation to rugby participation and selection criteria for inclusion in school rugby teams: coaches' perspective (the SCRuM project).BMC research notes · 2019Article
- Energy expenditure of rugby players during a 14-day in-season period, measured using doubly labelled water.European journal of applied physiology · 2018Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn England, rugby union is a popular sport and is widely played within schools. Despite the large participation numbers, the movement and physical demands of the sport and how they progress by age have not been explored.
methodNinety-six male rugby union players wore microtechnology devices during six rugby union matches within the education pathway to investigate the movement and physical demands of match-play. To quantify the positional differences and progression by age, data were obtained for participants at the under 16 (U16) (n=31 participants), under 18 (U18) (n=34 participants) and university (n=31 participants) levels. Players were further divided in forwards and backs. Data were analysed using magnitude-based inferences.
resultsFor the movement demands, U16 total distance and 'striding' was likely higher for forwards than backs, whereas at U18, unclear differences were observed and from university players the inverse was observed (very likely). In all age groups sprint distance was likely to very likely greater for backs than forwards. Forwards had greater physical demands than backs at all age groups. For consecutive age groups, U16 had a likely higher relative distance than U18, and U18 had a likely lower relative distance than university players. Physical demands were similar across age groups for forwards, and greater for backs at older age groups.
conclusionThe movement and physical demands of rugby union players participating in schools (U16 and U18), may not be as expected, however, the findings from university players show a similar pattern to the senior game.
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