Physical fitness of elite women's rugby union players over a ...

ody mass passively recovery around the ruck area after an intense activity. The percentage of
time spent walking reported for U-19 players (front forwards 14.7%, back row forwards 16%,
inside backs 27.5%; outside backs 27%) was similar to Super 12 players (Deutsch et al.,
1998). Conversely, there is greater use of jogging by forwards when compared with backs
which suggests forwards continuously follow the ball to breakdowns given the proximity to
the contest (Deutsch et al., 1998; Roberts et al., 2008).
2.3.2 Work-to-Rest Ratios
Across all rugby playing positions, players are required to repeatedly reproduce maximal
sprints of short duration, interspersed with brief recovery periods over the duration of a match.
Hence, work-to-rest ratios provide an objective means of quantifying the physiological
requirement of an activity (Duthie et al., 2003). Work and rest periods have been defined as
those when a player is involved in high intensity activities (running, sprinting, rucking,
mauling or scrumming) and in low intensity activities (standing, walking, jogging and
shuffling sideways or backwards) respectively (McLean, 1992). Work-to-rest ratios are
calculated by comparing the mean duration of work periods against the mean duration of rest
periods (Deutsch et al., 2002; Duthie et al., 2003; McLean, 1992). High-intensity efforts can
sometimes follow each other in effort to retain possession, resulting in increased work-to-rest
ratios and players having insufficient time for the replenishment of creatine phosphate stores
between high intensity efforts, and thus a considerable reliance on anaerobic glycolysis during
these subsequent work periods (Deutsch et al., 1998; Deutsch et al., 2007). This results in the
need for longer periods of recovery between high intensity efforts (Meir, Newton, Curtis,
Fardell, & Butler, 2001).
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