Contact and Head Acceleration Characteristics of a Women's Rugby Union Team During an International Tournament

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the characteristics of contact and head acceleration event (HAE) exposure in an international women's rugby union team, across an international tournament, encompassing match and training contexts. Using a retrospective case study design, the contact and HAE exposure of 28 women's rugby union players were assessed using video analysis and instrumented mouthguards (iMGs). In a three-week tournament, three matches and 16 training sessions were coded using consensus operational definitions, and synchronized with iMG data. Exposure duration was recorded for each player, facilitating analysis of contact frequency, and HAE incidence per player hour. The probability of contact events to result in HAEs was reported. Training accounted for 71% (forwards) and 81% (backs) of weekly contact count. Forwards had a greater contact frequency than backs during matches (58.0 ± 10.5 vs. 21.3 ± 8.6 events per player hour). The probability for an HAE was greater in matches than training, with large inter-individual variability observed. During matches and training, the tackle event accounted for 82% and 71% of HAEs ≥ 25g, and 79% and 78% of HAEs ≥ 1.5 krad/s² respectively. Training contact exposure should be routinely monitored and managed for players who accumulate more HAEs, considering the substantial contribution of training to weekly cumulative exposure. Strategies to reduce HAEs should be focused on the tackle area, given that the majority of HAEs are attributed to the ball carrier and tackler.