Position-specific countermovement jump characteristics of elite Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 athletes

Abstract

Rugby union (RU) is an intermittent team sport, with diverse playing positions, played internationally by both men and women. Considerable scientific attention has been devoted to men’s RU, however despite the growth in the women’s professional game, there is a significant lack of available physiological and normative data. The purpose of the present study was to investigate positional variation in countermovement jump characteristics from elite women’s RU players. Qualitative data were collected from women’s Rugby World Cup (2017) competitors (n = 86; age: 27 ± 5 years; body mass: 77.8 ± 10.6 kg; height: 1.69 ± 0.07 cm) and jump data (countermovement jumps) were collected using a 1200 Hz force platform (n = 63). Athletes were divided into positional unit (backs: n = 39 and forwards: n = 47) and by positional subgroups. Backs had greater jump height (ES = 0.72, 95%CL ± 0.50), relative power output (ES = 0.84, 95%CL ± 0.50), relative force production (ES = 0.62, 95%CL ± 0.51) and reactive strength index (RSI; ES = 0.62, 95%CL ± 0.50), compared to forwards (for all, P < 0.02). Backrows, halves and back-three players had greater relative force, relative power and jump height, compared to the front and second rows (P < 0.03; ES > 0.70). These data could aid in programming for long-term player development in women’s RU and could have implications for “readiness” to compete at international level.