Abstract
Introduction: The current research was carried out to quantify aerobic and anaerobic training and its impact on physical attributes and performance in rugby seven players. Methods: This descriptive and interventional study was conducted on 54 male rugby sevens players through convenience sampling. Quantitative data was collected by means of physiological tests, consisting of pre-morphological characteristics, aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, muscular strength and muscular endurance. Collected data were analysed by SPSS-15 software. Descriptive statistics were described by means, standard deviation, percentage of improvement and minimum and maximum scores for all variables measured. Inferential statistics drew conclusions on the population group (backs versus forwards) from the sample measurements. Results: Rugby sevens players had morphological characteristics (sum of 7 skinfolds 75 ± 33 mm, body fat 14 ± 5 %, fat mass 14 ± 7 kg, lean mass 77 ± 11 kg; mean ± SD) similar to those of backs in international 15-player rugby union. No significant difference was found in the predicted VO2max (p ≥ 0.05) of the total rugby sevens group as well as positional variance. Significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) in anaerobic capacity for the total rugby sevens players was obtained (63 ± 3 s). The results of strength and muscular endurance analysis in this study showed significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in the total rugby sevens group as well as in position. The results of this study indicated that forwards were stronger in the bench press, demonstrating a change score of 20,7 % compared to that of the backs (19,0%), as well as in squat measures (15,5%) compared to the backs (14,1%). The total rugby sevens group presented a change score of 18,5% in bench press between the pre- and post-intervention results and 14,3% change score in squats. Acceleration, speed and agility (10-m sprint 1.5 ± 0.3 s, 40- m sprint 5.11 ± 0.15 s, 15.1 ± 0.7 s) and muscle-power (vertical jump 28 ± 0.3 cm) qualities were similar to those of professional backs in 15-a-side players. Conclusion: Rugby sevens players require highly developed aerobic fitness and anaerobic fitness (repeated sprint ability, speed, power, muscular strength and endurance) to tolerate the demands of competition.
M.Tech. (Sport Science)