SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2024
Real-World Fatigue Testing in Professional Rugby Union: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Recovery Strategies in Elite-Level Male Rugby Union Players and Positional Considerations: A Scoping Review.Sports medicine - open · 2026Review
- The role and application of internal and external load indicators in monitoring fatigue in rugby players-a narrative review.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Review
- Dissociation Between Subjective Fatigue and Objective Performance During Repeated Tackling in Amateur Rugby Players.Translational sports medicine · 2025Article
- Jump Squats Performed with Both Light and Heavy Loads Have Similar Effects on the Physical Performance of Elite Rugby Players during the Initial Phase of the Competitive Period.Journal of human kinetics · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundProfessional rugby union is a high-intensity contact sport with position-specific high training and match volumes across a season that may lead to periods of fatigue if above a typically experienced threshold. This study assesses the influence of match play and/or training on fatigue levels in rugby union players.
objectiveWe aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of measures used to assess fatigue status in male professional rugby union players.
methodsUsing electronic databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and MEDLINE), a systematic review of fatigue testing in rugby union was conducted on (1) neuromuscular, (2) subjective self-report, (3) biochemical, and (4) heart rate-derived measures.
resultsThirty-seven articles were included in this systematic review, of which 14 were further included in a meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis revealed small, yet not significant, decreases in countermovement jump height immediately after (effect size [ES] = - 0.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] - 0.64 to 0.06), 24 h (ES = - 0.43; 95% CI - 3.99 to 3.21), and 48 h (ES = - 0.22; 95% CI - 0.47 to 0.02) after exposure to rugby union match play or training. Reported wellness (ES = - 0.33; 95% CI - 1.70 to 1.04) and tiredness (ES = - 0.14; 95% CI - 1.30 to 1.03) declined over a period of a few weeks (however, the results were not-statistically significant), meanwhile muscle soreness increased (ES = 0.91; 95% CI 0.06 to 1.75) within the 96 h after the exposure to rugby union match play or training. Finally, while cortisol levels (ES = 1.87; 95% CI - 1.54 to 5.29) increased, testosterone declined (ES = - 1.54; 95% CI - 7.16 to 4.08) within the 24 h after the exposure. However, these results were not statistically significant.
conclusionsSubjective measures of muscle soreness can be used to assess fatigue after match play and training in rugby union players. Within-study and between-study variability for countermovement jump height, biochemical markers, and heart rate-derived measures means the utility (practical application) of these measures to assess fatigue in professional rugby union players after matches and training is unclear. CLINICAL
trial registrationPROSPERO ID: CRD42020216706.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.