The match demands of international rugby sevens

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to quantify the global match demands of international rugby sevens and to compare the match demands of forwards and backs, and between tournament rounds. To assess the match demands, global positioning system (GPS) and video analysis were collected from 27 international rugby sevens players from the same team across an entire International Rugby Board Sevens World Series season. Differences in running demands and match activities between forwards and backs were mostly trivial and small (ES = 0.05 – 0.84) while differences in running demands and match activities between Pool and Cup rounds were trivial (ES = 0.001 – 0.12). Cup round matches showed an increase in long- duration ball-in-play sequences (proportion ratio 0.46). These fi ndings suggest international rugby sevens forwards and backs experience similar match demands while overall match demands remain consistent across tournament rounds.

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

2015

Location of the Work

Oxon, UK

Faculty

Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science

Publisher

Routledge

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences

RAS ID

20269

Comments

Ross, A., Gill, N., & Cronin, J. B. (2015). The match demands of international rugby sevens. Journal of Sports Sciences, 33(10), 1035-1041. Available here

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1080/02640414.2014.979858