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

such as heart rate (Deutsch et al., 1998), blood lactate concentration (Deutsch et al., 1998;
McLean, 1992); blood glucose (Jardine, Wiggins, Myburgh, & Noakes, 1988), muscle
glycogen (Jardine et al., 1988) and haematological parameters (Banfi, Del Fabbro, Mauri,
Corsi, & Melegati, 2006) to establish the physiological response to rugby. Due to the
frequency of physical contact during competition, to collect blood samples poses logistical
difficulty for researchers and players. Hence time-motional analysis is preferred, as it provides
a non-invasive and yet effective method of quantifying the demands of rugby and also
provides conceptual frame work for specific physical preparation of players (Deutsch, et al.,
2002; Deutsch et al., 2007; Duthie et al., 2003; McLean, 1992; Roberts, Trewartha, Higgitt,
El-Abd, & Stokes, 2008).
In rugby, time-motion analysis has been used extensively to establish movement patterns
(Deutsch et al., 1998; Deutsch et al., 2002; Deutsch et al., 2007), distance covered and average
velocities (Deutsch et al., 2002; Deutsch et al., 2007; Duthie et al., 2003; McLean, 1992;
Roberts et al., 2008), levels of exertion and work to rest ratios (Deutsch et al., 1998; Deutsch
et al., 2007; Duthie, Pyne, & Hooper, 2005; McLean, 1992) in order to quantify the time spent
in different activities at different levels of competition and between positional groups (Duthie
et al., 2003).
Hence, a detailed understanding of positional demands is necessary to inform the development
of more position specific norms so as to match players to particular positions and for the
implementation of training programs specific to the physical positional demands.
18