Physical fitness of elite women's rugby union players over a ...

(Gabbett, 2007; Quarrie et al., 1995; Kirby & Reilly, 1993). In an attempt to obtain a
homogenous sample size of senior elite women’s rugby union players, only participants that
have been selected for the SARU high performance squad will be studied. Although it may
have been advantageous to include a greater sample size, the researcher deems it more
important to study a representative sample of elite women’s rugby players.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The sample consisted of 32 elite female rugby players who were identified as members of the
South African Rugby Union High Performance Squad for the 2010 Women’s Rugby World
Cup. The players’ ages ranged from 19 to 37 years and were defined as “elite” because the
majority of these players have international playing experience.
The participants were assessed on three separate occasions throughout the 2009 competition
season. The first data collection process took place in May, pre-season, then in July, midseason
and in October, post season. All physical assessments were conducted on the first day
of the national training camps after medical assessments were done on each player by the
medical staff. All measurements and assessments were done in-doors so as to limit any
interference from environmental conditions. On all testing occasions, the fitness testing
protocol was specifically completed in the following order: stature, body mass; skinfolds; sit
and reach; vertical jump; speed; bench press; pull-ups, push-ups and multi-stage shuttle run so
as to increase reliability and accuracy.
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