Abstract
Objective. The aim of this study was to describe the body composition, strength and speed characteristics of elite junior South African rugby players. Design. Cross-sectional. Setting. Field study. Subjects. Rugby players (16 and 18 years old, N = 174) selected for the South African Rugby Union National Green Squad. Outcome measures. Body composition, 10 m and 40 m speed, agility, 1RM bench press, underhand pull-ups, push-ups, multistage shuttle run. Results. The under-16 players were on average shorter (175.6 ± 5.7 v. 179.2 ± 6.7 cm), weighed less (76.5 ± 8.2 v. 84.8 ± 8.3 kg) had less upper body absolute strength (77.1 ± 11.8 kg v. 95.3 ± 16.7 kg) and muscular endurance (41 ± 12 v. 52 ± 15 push-ups) and aerobic fitness (87.1 ± 19.4 v. 93.5 ± 15.3 shuttles) than the under-18 players. There were no differences in body fat, sprinting speed (10 m and 40 m) or agility between the two age groups. There were differences between playing positions, with the props having the most body fat, strongest upper bodies, slowest sprinting speed, least agility and lowest aerobic capacity compared with players in the other positions. Conclusion. This study provides data for elite junior rugby players and can be used to monitor the progression of players after intervention while also assisting with talent identification for the different playing positions. South African Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 18 (2) 2006: pp. 38-45
Highlights
Many studies have examined the physical characteristics of elite,[3,9] amateur,[16,19] adolescent[6,18,19] and pre-adolescent rugby players.[17]
There were differences between playing positions, with the props having the most body fat, strongest upper bodies, slowest sprinting speed, least agility and lowest aerobic capacity compared with players in the other positions
This study provides data for elite junior rugby players and can be used to monitor the progression of players after intervention while assisting with talent identification for the different playing positions
Summary
Many studies have examined the physical characteristics of elite,[3,9] amateur,[16,19] adolescent[6,18,19] and pre-adolescent rugby players.[17]. The goal of the Green Squad programme is to identify and develop rugby talent with a long-term vision of channelling these players into the national squad. As rugby is a highly demanding physical, tactical and skill-based team sport,[9] substantial resources and emphasis should be directed towards developing and maintaining physical fitness in players from an early age.[10] In accordance with this, the objective of the study was to provide a descriptive profile of the under-16 and under-18 year elite junior players. The aim was to highlight the anthropometric, strength and speed differences between the 9 categories of playing positions and between the 2 age groups with the intention of using the data for future talent identification and training intervention projects. This study is novel, as no such data exist on junior rugby players
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