Recovery Strategies in Elite-Level Male Rugby Union Players and Positional Considerations: A Scoping Review.

Abstract

Rugby union training and competition results in task-specific fatigue. As a result, practitioners working in elite rugby settings must identify and understand the position-specific demands placed upon players. Aligning appropriate recovery strategies is essential to optimise performance. Therefore, the primary aim of this scoping review is to explore current fatigue and recovery strategies in elite rugby players and investigate any specific strategies used to enhance recovery. The secondary aim of this scoping review is to discuss potential positional differences in relation to recovery strategies and fatigue markers. Thirty-seven articles were included in this scoping review, with results identifying a diversity in the recovery approaches taken, with cold water immersion the most commonly used, compression garments, partial and whole-body cryotherapy, electrostimulation, nutritional supplements (fish oil), pool-based active recovery, and innovative mattresses also utilised. The findings align with previous research showing that many recovery strategies have limited empirical support; however, an interesting finding from our review was that 26 studies included no specific recovery intervention (natural recovery) within their research methodology. Only five studies reported positional data results, meaning it is difficult to appropriately compare position-specific recovery or quantify the effectiveness of specific recovery strategies. Thus, this scoping review serves as a "call to arms" to the rugby union research community to identify position-specific data in future studies and then integrate positional specificity and individualised athlete needs to enhance recovery. Given the limited evidence that this scoping review has provided, there is a need to further explore the position-specific recovery strategies in future studies to assess their potential impact on performance.