Influence of congested match schedules, pre-match well-being and level of opponents on match loads during world rugby women’s sevens series

Daniele Conte (Corresponding Author), Aristide Guerriero, Corrado Lupo, Ademir Felipe Schultz Arruda, Paulius Kamarauskas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study aimed at assessing (1) the effect of congested match schedules on match loads and well-being as well as (2) pre-match well-being and level of opponents on match loads in elite women’s rugby sevens. Eleven players of the Brazilian women’s rugby sevens national team were investigated across three 2019-20 HSVC World Rugby Women’s Seven Series tournaments to assess: (1) within-tournament match-to-match changes in various external and internal match load measures; (2) daily changes in players’ well-being collected before the commencement of a tournament (day one) and during or post-tournament (day two to day four); and (3) the effect of pre-match well-being and level of opponents (high vs. low level) on match loads. Results revealed no between-match significant differences (p > 0.05) in most of the investigated match load measures. A congested match schedule negatively affected perceived fatigue (p < 0.001), muscle soreness (p = 0.004) and overall wellness (p < 0.001), with post hoc analyses showing decreased values on day four compared to previous days (small-to-moderate effect sizes). Finally, pre-match well-being and level of opponents did not affect match loads (p > 0.05). These results highlighted the necessity to embrace a multidimensional approach when adopting monitoring systems in elite women’s rugby sevens during tournaments and to consider various contextual factors possibly affecting match loads, besides those investigated.

Original languageEnglish
Article number12132
Number of pages12
JournalInternational journal of environmental research and public health
Volume18
Issue number22
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords*

  • Congested fixture
  • External load
  • GPS
  • Internal load
  • RPE
  • Wellness

Field of Science*

  • 3.3 Health sciences

Publication Type*

  • 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

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