PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE OF BRAZILIAN RUGBY PLAYERS

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The aim of this study was to compare the anthropometric characteristics and physical ... respective data with those obtained by the national team players. .... four different groups from the same rugby club (i.e., U-15, U-17, U-19, and PRO), and a group ..... throughout the age-categories is not essential to determine the level of ...
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research Publish Ahead of Print DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001348

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE OF BRAZILIAN RUGBY PLAYERS FROM DIFFERENT AGE-CATEGORIES AND COMPETITIVE LEVELS

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Kitamura1, Cesar C. Cal Abad1, Lucas A. Pereira¹, Irineu Loturco1

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Ronaldo Kobal1, Fábio Y. Nakamura1,2, José E. Moraes3, Maurício Coelho4, Katia

1 - NAR - Nucleus of High Performance in Sport, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

2 - Department of Physical Education, State University of Londrina, PR, Brazil

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3 - CBRU – Brazilian Confederation of Rugby 4 – São José Rugby Club, SP, Brazil

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Running head: Physical performance in rugby players

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Corresponding author: Irineu Loturco

Nucleus of High Performance in Sport – São Paulo Av. Padre José Maria, 555 – 04753 – 060 - São Paulo – SP – Brazil Phone: +55 11 3758-0918 Fax: +55 11 3758-0918 e-mail: [email protected]

Copyright ª 2016 National Strength and Conditioning Association

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ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to compare the anthropometric characteristics and physical

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capacities (vertical jumping, speed, agility, and endurance abilities) among different age -

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categories of Brazilian rugby players from the same high-level club and to compare their

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respective data with those obtained by the national team players. Eighty-eight male Brazilian

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rugby players from four different age categories were divided into four different groups (i.e., U-

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15, U-17, U-19, and professional senior team [PRO]) and a group composed of players from the

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Brazilian national team (NAT). Anthropometric measures (i.e., height and body mass), squat

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jump and countermovement jump tests (SJ and CMJ), two agility tests (COD and Pro-agility),

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40m sprinting, and the Yo-Yo endurance test level 1 were compared among the groups using

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analysis of covariance (multi-variables MANCOVA) with the body mass as a covariate. The

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NAT group demonstrated significantly greater performances in all variables compared to the U-

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15, U-17, U-19, and PRO groups (P < 0.05). Moreover, the PRO group demonstrated better

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performances in vertical jumping assessments (i.e., SJ and CMJ) and agility tests (i.e., COD and

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Pro-agility) than the younger categories (P < 0.05). Finally, except for the U-15, no significant

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differences were found between the young age-categories in sprint and endurance capacities.

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These findings show that, throughout the maturation process, rugby players improve their muscle

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power and agility abilities, without presenting significant increases in endurance and sprinting capacities. Importantly, this does not hold true for players from the NAT group, who presented

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superior performance in all assessed physical variables (in comparison to the younger and PRO

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categories).

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Keywords: muscle power; young athletes; plyometrics; team sports; speed performance

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INTRODUCTION Rugby is an intermittent sport characterized by bouts of high-intensity activities (i.e.,

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sprints, acceleration/deceleration and changes of direction [COD]) interspersed with bouts of

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lower-intensity activities (e.g. standing, walking and jogging), with a high frequency of physical

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collisions (i.e., tackles, scrums, rucks and mauls) (7, 15). Due to the complex demands, a better

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characterization of the physical capacities related to rugby performance (e.g., muscle power,

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speed, agility and endurance), which are expected to change across age-categories in prospective

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players, is needed. In addition, determining which capacities differentiate between elite and less

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qualified players may be relevant to enable implementation of effective training programs at the

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top-level of athletes’ preparation.

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In this regard, it is well established that the physical performance (i.e., assessed by means

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of vertical jumps, maximum strength assessments and endurance tests) of team sports players

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improves throughout their participation in development programs, due to the accumulation of

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training experience and the biological maturation process (6, 11, 25). However, these data in

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rugby are limited to some specific age-categories, such as very young “novices” (13-16 years) (8,

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9) or young professionals (16-21 years), (6, 10, 25). This fact makes it difficult to ascertain what

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typically occurs during the transition phases between the younger and professional rugby categories. For instance, Darrall-Jones et al. (6) compared three distinct age-categories of rugby

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players from the English academy (i.e., under-16, under-18, and under-21), reporting that the

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older athletes were taller and heavier and presented superior performances in vertical jumping

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and maximum strength tests. Curiously, for sprinting and endurance capacities, no significant

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differences were found between the three different age-categories. Moreover, Baker and Newton

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(1) reported no differences in sprinting and agility abilities among rugby players from distinct

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competitive levels (i.e., Australian elite first-division national rugby league versus second-

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division state league). Although these authors performed this investigation with rugby league

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players (instead of rugby union athletes), these data highlight the controversial questions

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regarding the possible evolution of the physical performance of top-level rugby players

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throughout the distinct phases of the maturation process. Hence, there is a lack of information

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related to which physical capacities are capable of differentiating athletes of different ages and

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also those selected to participate in the national team. From an applied perspective, a better

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understanding of the possible differences between different age-categories may allow coaches

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and sports scientists to adopt more adequate strategies for training and selecting young and elite

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rugby athletes.

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Therefore, this study aimed to compare the anthropometric characteristics (i.e., height

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and body mass) and physical capacities (vertical jumping, speed, agility, and endurance abilities)

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among different age-categories of Brazilian rugby players of the same high-level club (under-15,

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under-17, under-19, and professional) and to compare their respective data with those obtained

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for national team players. We hypothesized that: 1) the older and more experienced athletes

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would perform better than their younger counterparts, and 2) the players from the national team

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would present superior physical performances to all the other players.

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METHODS

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Experimental Approach to the Problem

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This cross-sectional study was designed to compare anthropometric characteristics

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(height and body mass) and physical performance (vertical jump height, speed, agility and

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endurance) of rugby players from four different age-categories from the same high-level club,

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and the national team (so-called National). Prior to the actual tests, all participants visited the

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laboratory on one occasion for familiarization with the procedures of this study. Besides this, the

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athletes were all previously familiarized with the tests due to their normal training and

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assessment routines. The experimental sessions took place over two days, separated by a

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minimum of 48 hours, in the following order: day 1 – anthropometric measures, squat jump and

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countermovement jump tests, agility, and sprint assessments; day 2 – Yo-Yo endurance test,

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level 1. Prior to all assessments, a standardized warm-up protocol was performed, including

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general (i.e., running at a moderate pace for 5 mins followed by 3 mins of lower limb light active

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stretching) and specific exercises. Three minutes after the warm-up, the players were required to

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perform the tests. All assessments were completed in the same month, during the in-season

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training period (after the pre-season), attesting that all athletes were close to their peak

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performance.

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Subjects

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Eighty-eight male Brazilian rugby players from four different age categories, divided into

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four different groups from the same rugby club (i.e., U-15, U-17, U-19, and PRO), and a group

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composed of players from the Brazilian national team (NAT) (including five players from the investigated club) participated in this study (Table 1). The following players were enrolled in the

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Brazilian First Division Championship of their respective age-categories. The five players from

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the club called for the national team were considered part of the NAT group. Currently, the

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Brazilian national team occupies the 39th position in the International Rugby Board (IRB)

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ranking, of 102 national teams. The players involved in this study were part of one of the most

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traditional rugby clubs in Brazil. Of note, the PRO players from this club have won the Brazilian

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national championship (the most important rugby union competition in Brazil for senior rugby

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players) 9 times (including the national championship disputed in 2015). All assessments took

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place at the beginning of the pre-season. The study procedures were approved by a local Ethics

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Committee, and the participants and their legal guardians (in the case of