RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Anthropometric, physiological characteristics and rugby-specific game skills discriminating Zimbabwean under-16 male adolescent rugby players by level of competition
JF BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine
JO BMJ OPEN SP EX MED
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP e000576
DO 10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000576
VO 5
IS 1
A1 Matthew Chiwaridzo
A1 Gillian D Ferguson
A1 Bouwien C M Smits-Engelsman
YR 2019
UL http://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/5/1/e000576.abstract
AB Objectives Despite growing popularity of adolescent rugby in Zimbabwean schools, little is known about qualities or skills of schoolboy rugby players and how they differ by competitive level. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to identify anthropometric, physiological characteristics and rugby-specific game skills capable of discriminating under-16 (U16) RU players across three proficiency levels.Methods Following development of School Clinical Rugby Measure test battery, elite rugby players (n=41), subelite rugby players (n=30) and non-rugby players (n=29) were enrolled and tested for height, sitting height, body mass, skinfolds, speed, agility, upper and lower muscular strength and power, prolonged high-intensity intermittent running ability, tackling, passing and catching in a cross-sectional study.Results Elite rugby players displayed significantly better scores for all physiological tests and game skills compared with either subelite or non-rugby players, except for Sit-and-Reach, 20 m speed and L-run tests. However, only vertical jump (VJ) and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 (Yo-Yo IRT L1) significantly improved with increasing competitive level. In addition, elite rugby players showed significantly better scores for tackling (p<0.001) and catching (p<0.001) compared with subelites. No statistical differences were observed across competitive levels for height (p=0.43), sum of seven skinfolds (p=0.26) and passing (p=0.27).Conclusion Since VJ and Yo-Yo IRT L1 improved with increasing playing standard, these findings possibly highlight physiological attributes important in elite schoolboy rugby in Zimbabwe. Additionally, development and training of tackling and catching skills in U16 schoolboy rugby is important since they are linked to higher playing standard.