Rugby sevens feminino : análise de indicadores de desempenho durante a bola em jogo

Abstract

Studies in rugby sevens have documented the physical demands of matches through GPS equipment to understand the game's demands and create better training programs. These studies quantified players' movements but did not explain the intensity fluctuations during the game, leading physical trainers to underestimate the work rate during the most intense periods. Consequently, actions were analyzed during ball-in-play time to understand the worst-case scenarios (characterized by the longest ball-in-play periods in a match) to which athletes are subjected, so training programs have a theoretical basis for programming training volumes and intensities. However, no scientific evidence of this nature was found to have been published on women's rugby sevens, which would help understand the magnitude of the efforts made and allow training loads to be adapted to the modality. Thus, the general objective of this dissertation was to analyze the demands of relative distance covered (m/min), relative sprint distance covered (m/min covered above 18 km/h), and the relative number of accelerations (above 3m/s²/min) through different methods of GPS data evaluation (ball-in-play method - BEJ and all match method - ROLL), compare the demands of ball-in-play in the phases of attack, defense, and transition, and present the worst-case scenario found in each of the women's rugby sevens matches. This dissertation was organized into two original/experimental articles. The first article aimed to (i) compare the locomotor demands of a rugby sevens match based on ball-in-play methods and the entire game average; and (ii) determine the worst-case scenario demands by analyzing the longest ball-in-play periods during matches. Fourteen professional under-19 rugby players participated in the study. The study analyzed the physical demands of a single match obtained through individual GPS. The results indicated that the entire game average method underestimated the average work rate compared to the ball-in-play method. Additionally, the ball-in-play method was more sensitive to changes in workload throughout the matches, and the worst-case scenario presented higher physical demands in terms of volume than the game averages. Subsequently, to evaluate the game's demands in an official competition, another study was conducted using only the ball-in-play method (second article), which aimed to (i) investigate and compare the external load demands of all live balls in the championship and compare these demands with the worst-case scenario demands (distance per minute, sprint distance per minute, and accelerations per minute); and (ii) compare the external load demands in different game phases (attack, defense, and transition). Twenty-one professional rugby players participated, having their running demands analyzed during the 20 matches of the Super Sevens 2023 using individual GPS. The results did not indicate significant differences in any external load variable between the average demands and the worst-case scenarios of the matches. Furthermore, there was no difference in the relative external load experienced by the athletes, remaining consistent in different periods and game phases (first vs. second half and defense, attack, and transition actions). Based on the results of this dissertation, it is concluded that the ball-in-play method is sensitive to monitoring external load in rugby sevens, providing more accurate data regarding the intensity of efforts compared to the entire game average method. It is also concluded that during the worst-case scenarios, the relative displacement demands are similar to other game actions, and therefore, it is important to apply training protocols aimed at maintaining the intensity of actions during such periods. Finally, this dissertation concluded that displacement demands are similar during the attack, defense, and transition phases, and thus, physical trainers can use the average ball-in-play metrics to program both attack and defense exercises without differentiating the demands of each game phase.