Physical fitness of elite women's rugby union players over a ...
Physical fitness of elite women's rugby union players over a ...
Physical fitness of elite women's rugby union players over a ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
male <strong>rugby</strong> <strong>players</strong> may be associated with greater training volume during field conditioning<br />
sessions. the greater conditioning volume (Gabbett, 2005a).<br />
2.6 SUMMARY<br />
Traditionally, the game <strong>of</strong> <strong>rugby</strong> <strong>union</strong> has been a male dominated sport. Acceptance <strong>of</strong> the<br />
female game by the International Rugby Board (IRB) has resulted in the emergence <strong>of</strong> a<br />
structured international competition being the World Cup. Rugby <strong>union</strong> is a contact sport in<br />
which <strong>players</strong> requires high levels <strong>of</strong> physical <strong>fitness</strong> which is a composite <strong>of</strong> aerobic and<br />
anaerobic endurance, muscle strength and power, speed and agility.With <strong>rugby</strong> <strong>union</strong><br />
increasingly being played year round, a greater emphasis has being placed on the development<br />
and maintenance <strong>of</strong> physical <strong>fitness</strong> levels. Much research has been conducted with male<br />
<strong>rugby</strong> <strong>players</strong>, but very little with females. Therefore, the aim <strong>of</strong> this study is to contribute the<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> coaches by describing anthropometric and physical characteristics <strong>of</strong> an <strong>elite</strong><br />
women’s <strong>rugby</strong> <strong>union</strong> within a competition season.<br />
43