Comparisons of running and accelerometry based measures between playing positions in touch rugby. A case study of an amateur male team

Background: The main objective of the present study was to quantify the external load of the games that belong to a national tournament by comparing playing positions. A secondary objective consisted in comparing the match-to-match variations. Methods: Fourteen players (four links, four middles...

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Main Authors: Rafael Oliveira, Matilde Nalha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MRE Press 2025-02-01
Series:Journal of Men's Health
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Online Access:https://oss.jomh.org/files/article/20250228-487/pdf/JOMH2024103101.pdf
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author Rafael Oliveira
Matilde Nalha
author_facet Rafael Oliveira
Matilde Nalha
author_sort Rafael Oliveira
collection DOAJ
description Background: The main objective of the present study was to quantify the external load of the games that belong to a national tournament by comparing playing positions. A secondary objective consisted in comparing the match-to-match variations. Methods: Fourteen players (four links, four middles and six wings) were included (age: 39.36 ± 5.83 years; body mass index: 26.65 ± 4.13). Participants were monitored during a tournament. Through Gpexe pro2, the following measures were collected and relativized per minute: total distance, forward distance, backward distance, zone 1 (0–1.50 m/s), zone 2 (1.50–3.00 m/s), zone 3 (3.00–4.00 m/s), zone 4 (4.00–5.50 m/s), zone 5 (5.50–7.00 m/s) and zone 6 (>7.00 m/s), the number of accelerations and decelerations, impacts and jumps. The absolute values of maximal speed, maximal acceleration speed and maximal deceleration speed were also used for analysis. Results: The main findings showed meaningful higher values of zone 4 (16.18 ± 1.89 vs. 5.56 ± 3.53), zone 5 (2.91 ± 0.81 vs. 0.38 ± 0.38), zone 6 (0.35 ± 0.24 vs. 0.00 ± 0.00), deceleration (0.56 ± 0.21 vs. 0.19 ± 0.12), maximal speed (23.56 ± 1.90 vs. 18.84 ± 1.24) and forward distance (102.20 ± 13.45 vs. 67.42 ± 17.40) for middles than wings (p < 0.05), with large to very large effect sizes. In addition, no differences were found when comparing external load data from all matches. Conclusions: The findings of this study showed a clear tendency of higher values for middles than links and wings which provides a deeper understanding of the positional activity profile of an Amateur Portuguese team allowing practitioners to adjust training with the common external load experienced in a tournament. Moreover, the analysis of match-to-match comparison revealed no differences through the competition day, which means a proper fatigue management.
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spelling doaj-art-a920ff2cfa3143c39092d07dd57702d72025-08-20T03:02:07ZengMRE PressJournal of Men's Health1875-68671875-68592025-02-01212263310.22514/jomh.2025.018S1875-6867(25)00335-5Comparisons of running and accelerometry based measures between playing positions in touch rugby. A case study of an amateur male teamRafael Oliveira0Matilde Nalha1Santarém Polytechnic University, School of Sport, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal Santarém Polytechnic University, School of Sport, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal Background: The main objective of the present study was to quantify the external load of the games that belong to a national tournament by comparing playing positions. A secondary objective consisted in comparing the match-to-match variations. Methods: Fourteen players (four links, four middles and six wings) were included (age: 39.36 ± 5.83 years; body mass index: 26.65 ± 4.13). Participants were monitored during a tournament. Through Gpexe pro2, the following measures were collected and relativized per minute: total distance, forward distance, backward distance, zone 1 (0–1.50 m/s), zone 2 (1.50–3.00 m/s), zone 3 (3.00–4.00 m/s), zone 4 (4.00–5.50 m/s), zone 5 (5.50–7.00 m/s) and zone 6 (>7.00 m/s), the number of accelerations and decelerations, impacts and jumps. The absolute values of maximal speed, maximal acceleration speed and maximal deceleration speed were also used for analysis. Results: The main findings showed meaningful higher values of zone 4 (16.18 ± 1.89 vs. 5.56 ± 3.53), zone 5 (2.91 ± 0.81 vs. 0.38 ± 0.38), zone 6 (0.35 ± 0.24 vs. 0.00 ± 0.00), deceleration (0.56 ± 0.21 vs. 0.19 ± 0.12), maximal speed (23.56 ± 1.90 vs. 18.84 ± 1.24) and forward distance (102.20 ± 13.45 vs. 67.42 ± 17.40) for middles than wings (p < 0.05), with large to very large effect sizes. In addition, no differences were found when comparing external load data from all matches. Conclusions: The findings of this study showed a clear tendency of higher values for middles than links and wings which provides a deeper understanding of the positional activity profile of an Amateur Portuguese team allowing practitioners to adjust training with the common external load experienced in a tournament. Moreover, the analysis of match-to-match comparison revealed no differences through the competition day, which means a proper fatigue management.https://oss.jomh.org/files/article/20250228-487/pdf/JOMH2024103101.pdfdecelerationexternal loadfatiguehigh-speed runninglinkload quantificationmatch loadmiddlesprintwing
spellingShingle Rafael Oliveira
Matilde Nalha
Comparisons of running and accelerometry based measures between playing positions in touch rugby. A case study of an amateur male team
Journal of Men's Health
deceleration
external load
fatigue
high-speed running
link
load quantification
match load
middle
sprint
wing
title Comparisons of running and accelerometry based measures between playing positions in touch rugby. A case study of an amateur male team
title_full Comparisons of running and accelerometry based measures between playing positions in touch rugby. A case study of an amateur male team
title_fullStr Comparisons of running and accelerometry based measures between playing positions in touch rugby. A case study of an amateur male team
title_full_unstemmed Comparisons of running and accelerometry based measures between playing positions in touch rugby. A case study of an amateur male team
title_short Comparisons of running and accelerometry based measures between playing positions in touch rugby. A case study of an amateur male team
title_sort comparisons of running and accelerometry based measures between playing positions in touch rugby a case study of an amateur male team
topic deceleration
external load
fatigue
high-speed running
link
load quantification
match load
middle
sprint
wing
url https://oss.jomh.org/files/article/20250228-487/pdf/JOMH2024103101.pdf
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