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 language | English |
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Article number | 12132 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | International journal of environmental research and public health |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 22 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
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