Change of Direction Deficit in National Team Rugby Union Players: Is There an Influence of Playing Position?
The aim of this study was to investigate the change of direction (COD) ability and deficits of elite rugby union players, discriminating between position (backs and forwards), and between “faster and slower players”, in multiple COD tasks. Twenty-four male rugby union players fro...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-12-01
|
Series: | Sports |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/7/1/2 |
id |
doaj-7e5e969230d04146a54210b2de981201 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-7e5e969230d04146a54210b2de9812012020-11-25T00:03:38ZengMDPI AGSports2075-46632018-12-0171210.3390/sports7010002sports7010002Change of Direction Deficit in National Team Rugby Union Players: Is There an Influence of Playing Position?Tomás T. Freitas0Pedro E. Alcaraz1Chris Bishop2Julio Calleja-González3Ademir F. S. Arruda4Aristide Guerriero5Valter P. Reis6Lucas A. Pereira7Irineu Loturco8Research Center for High Performance Sport, Catholic University of Murcia, 30107 Murcia, SpainResearch Center for High Performance Sport, Catholic University of Murcia, 30107 Murcia, SpainFaculty of Science and Technology, London Sports Institute, Middlesex University, London NW4 1RL, UKLaboratory of Sport Performance Analysis, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Basque Country, 01006 Vitoria, SpainBrazilian Rugby Confederation, São Paulo 01407911, BrazilBrazilian Rugby Confederation, São Paulo 01407911, BrazilNAR – Nucleus of High Performance in Sport, São Paulo 04753060, BrazilNAR – Nucleus of High Performance in Sport, São Paulo 04753060, BrazilNAR – Nucleus of High Performance in Sport, São Paulo 04753060, BrazilThe aim of this study was to investigate the change of direction (COD) ability and deficits of elite rugby union players, discriminating between position (backs and forwards), and between “faster and slower players”, in multiple COD tasks. Twenty-four male rugby union players from the Brazilian senior National team completed the following assessments: Squat and countermovement jumps; drop jump; standing long jump, horizontal triple jumps; 40-m linear sprint; Pro-agility, L-Drill, and Zig-zag COD tests; and squat 1-repetition maximum. The differences between backs and forwards and between faster and slower performers were examined using magnitude-based inferences. Backs were faster (in both linear and COD speed tests) and jumped higher than forwards. Moreover, they generated an inferior sprint momentum. No differences were found in COD deficit between playing positions. However, when dividing the sample by median split, faster players outperformed their slower counterparts in all power–speed variables and presented higher COD deficits. These results suggest that separating rugby players by playing position might not discriminate players with different COD skills and that the median split analysis is more sensitive to identifying these differences. Furthermore, the present data indicate that faster rugby players are less efficient at changing direction and tolerating higher approach velocities in COD maneuvers.http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/7/1/2team sportsagilityathletessprint velocitymuscle power |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Tomás T. Freitas Pedro E. Alcaraz Chris Bishop Julio Calleja-González Ademir F. S. Arruda Aristide Guerriero Valter P. Reis Lucas A. Pereira Irineu Loturco |
spellingShingle |
Tomás T. Freitas Pedro E. Alcaraz Chris Bishop Julio Calleja-González Ademir F. S. Arruda Aristide Guerriero Valter P. Reis Lucas A. Pereira Irineu Loturco Change of Direction Deficit in National Team Rugby Union Players: Is There an Influence of Playing Position? Sports team sports agility athletes sprint velocity muscle power |
author_facet |
Tomás T. Freitas Pedro E. Alcaraz Chris Bishop Julio Calleja-González Ademir F. S. Arruda Aristide Guerriero Valter P. Reis Lucas A. Pereira Irineu Loturco |
author_sort |
Tomás T. Freitas |
title |
Change of Direction Deficit in National Team Rugby Union Players: Is There an Influence of Playing Position? |
title_short |
Change of Direction Deficit in National Team Rugby Union Players: Is There an Influence of Playing Position? |
title_full |
Change of Direction Deficit in National Team Rugby Union Players: Is There an Influence of Playing Position? |
title_fullStr |
Change of Direction Deficit in National Team Rugby Union Players: Is There an Influence of Playing Position? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Change of Direction Deficit in National Team Rugby Union Players: Is There an Influence of Playing Position? |
title_sort |
change of direction deficit in national team rugby union players: is there an influence of playing position? |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sports |
issn |
2075-4663 |
publishDate |
2018-12-01 |
description |
The aim of this study was to investigate the change of direction (COD) ability and deficits of elite rugby union players, discriminating between position (backs and forwards), and between “faster and slower players”, in multiple COD tasks. Twenty-four male rugby union players from the Brazilian senior National team completed the following assessments: Squat and countermovement jumps; drop jump; standing long jump, horizontal triple jumps; 40-m linear sprint; Pro-agility, L-Drill, and Zig-zag COD tests; and squat 1-repetition maximum. The differences between backs and forwards and between faster and slower performers were examined using magnitude-based inferences. Backs were faster (in both linear and COD speed tests) and jumped higher than forwards. Moreover, they generated an inferior sprint momentum. No differences were found in COD deficit between playing positions. However, when dividing the sample by median split, faster players outperformed their slower counterparts in all power–speed variables and presented higher COD deficits. These results suggest that separating rugby players by playing position might not discriminate players with different COD skills and that the median split analysis is more sensitive to identifying these differences. Furthermore, the present data indicate that faster rugby players are less efficient at changing direction and tolerating higher approach velocities in COD maneuvers. |
topic |
team sports agility athletes sprint velocity muscle power |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/7/1/2 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT tomastfreitas changeofdirectiondeficitinnationalteamrugbyunionplayersisthereaninfluenceofplayingposition AT pedroealcaraz changeofdirectiondeficitinnationalteamrugbyunionplayersisthereaninfluenceofplayingposition AT chrisbishop changeofdirectiondeficitinnationalteamrugbyunionplayersisthereaninfluenceofplayingposition AT juliocallejagonzalez changeofdirectiondeficitinnationalteamrugbyunionplayersisthereaninfluenceofplayingposition AT ademirfsarruda changeofdirectiondeficitinnationalteamrugbyunionplayersisthereaninfluenceofplayingposition AT aristideguerriero changeofdirectiondeficitinnationalteamrugbyunionplayersisthereaninfluenceofplayingposition AT valterpreis changeofdirectiondeficitinnationalteamrugbyunionplayersisthereaninfluenceofplayingposition AT lucasapereira changeofdirectiondeficitinnationalteamrugbyunionplayersisthereaninfluenceofplayingposition AT irineuloturco changeofdirectiondeficitinnationalteamrugbyunionplayersisthereaninfluenceofplayingposition |
_version_ |
1725432814634008576 |