Subthemes and example quotes describing the perceived phases of professional rugby union off-season
| Subthemes | Example quote |
| Decompression from season | ‘I think you probably, especially if the season doesn’t end the way you want it to end… you might spend that first week dwelling on what’s gone, maybe even longer, and you're still thinking about it because that’s the way you're conditioned to think really. You're conditioned to analyse what you’ve done, what you could do better, how you can improve.’ P1 |
| Cognitive detachment from rugby | ‘I went on my first non-rugby-related holiday for five years… did me the world of good… completely switched off from rugby. I didn’t think about rugby the whole time I was there… I came back and I felt like a different person. I was ready then to go, ‘Actually, you know what, I’m ready to get back into the physical activity, I’m ready to get back into pre-season. I’m ready for this.’ P15 |
| Preparation for preseason | ‘And then that last two weeks is when you sort of start ramping up because you’ve had four weeks to completely sort of freshen up and then you’ve got two weeks to build yourself in, so you’re not coming in poor shape or getting injured.’ P2 |
*P denotes participant.