- Title
- The effect of physical fatigue on tackling technique in Rugby Union
- Creator
- Davidow, Demi; Redman, Matthew; Lambert, Mike; Burger, Nicholas; Smith, Mitchel; Jones, Ben; Hendricks, Sharief
- Relation
- Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 23, Issue 11, p. 1105-1110
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2020.04.005
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2020
- Description
- Objectives: To measure the change in tackling technique of rugby union players following an acute bout of physically fatiguing exercise. Design: Randomised cross-over study design with a physical fatigue condition and no-physical fatigue condition (control). Methods: Nineteen male amateur club rugby union players (n = 19) and a total of 887 tackles were analysed. During each condition, each player performed four sets of six tackles (three dominant and three non-dominant shoulder) on a contact simulator. Between each set of tackles in the physical fatigue condition, players performed the prolonged high-intensity intermittent running ability test. Using video, player's tackling proficiency for each tackle was measured by awarding either one point or zero points depending on whether a particular technique was performed or not. The sum of these points represents player’s tackling proficiency (score out of 9, measured in arbitrary units). Results: In the non-dominant shoulder, a difference between fatigue and control was found at set two (Fatigue 7.3 [7.1–7.6] AU vs. Control 7.6 [7.4–7.9] AU, p = 0.06, ES = 0.3 small) and set three (Fatigue 7.3 [7.0–7.5] AU vs. Control 7.7 [7.5–7.9] AU, p = 0.006, ES = 0.5 small). During the control condition, tackling proficiency scores improved from baseline for non-dominant tackles (Baseline 7.4 [7.2–7.6] AU, vs Set two 7.6 [7.4–7.9] AU, p = 0.08 ES = 0.3 small; vs Set three 7.7 [7.5–7.9] AU, p = 0.05, ES = 0.4 small). Conclusions: In conclusion, this study shows that physical fatigue can potentially affect rugby union players’ tackling technique. Therefore, players should develop technical capacity to resist the effects of physical fatigue during the tackle.
- Subject
- fatigue; injury prevention; performance; tackle; technique; shoulder dominance
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1434901
- Identifier
- uon:39543
- Identifier
- ISSN:1440-2440
- Language
- eng
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