Anthropometric characteristics of Australian junior representative rugby league players

Cheng, Hoi Lun; O’Connor, Helen; Kay, Shelley; Cook, Rebecca; Parker, Helen M.; Orr, Rhonda

doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2013.07.020

Cited by 21 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Players had played RL for at least one year with median experience being nine (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14) years. Three-quarters of players had external sporting commitments, and 69% reported a previous injury (51% being RL-related).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incidence and characteristics of injuries in elite Australian junior rugby league players

Orr

Cheng

2016

Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incidence and characteristics of injuries in elite Australian junior rugby league players

Orr

Cheng

2016

Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…nutrition) have not been accounted for or standardised. Interestingly, a study looking at anthropometric differences between Polynesian and non-Polynesian junior representative rugby league athletes found Polynesian players exhibited advantageous anthropometric attributes (Cheng et al, 2013). This could be used as further evidence that Polynesians are predisposed to possess physical characteristics potentially beneficial to rugby union performance (Olds, 2001;Sedeaud et al, 2012), which may be position specific.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body composition characteristics of elite Australian rugby union athletes according to playing position and ethnicity

Zemski

Slater

Broad

2015

Journal of Sports Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study describes the body composition traits of modern-day elite rugby union athletes according to playing position and ethnicity. Thirty-seven international Australian rugby athletes of Caucasian and Polynesian descent undertook body composition assessment using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and surface anthropometry. Forwards were significantly taller, heavier and had a greater total fat mass and lean mass than backs. Backs displayed a higher percentage lean mass and lower sum of seven skinfolds and percentage fat mass. While no whole body composition differences were seen between ethnicities, significant regional differences were observed. In the periphery (arm and leg) regions, Polynesians had a greater proportion of fat mass (53.1% vs. 51.3%, P = 0.052, d = 0.5) and lean mass (49.7% vs. 48.6%, P = 0.040, d = 0.9), while in the trunk region a lower proportion of fat mass (37.2% vs. 39.5%, P = 0.019, d = 0.7) and lean mass (45.6% vs. 46.8%, P = 0.020, d = 1.1). Significant differences were also seen between Caucasian and Polynesian forwards in leg lean mass (31.4 kg vs. 35.9 kg, P = 0.014, d = 2.4) and periphery lean mass (43.8 kg vs. 49.6 kg, P = 0.022, d = 2.4). Elite Polynesian rugby athletes have different distribution patterns of fat mass and lean mass compared to Caucasians, which may influence their suitability for particular positions.

show abstract

“…Findings in elite players aged between 13 and 15 years [17] showed that 92.4 and 33.3% of players were taller and 96.0 and 30.3% were heavier than the UK 50th and 97th growth percentiles, respectively [31]. Similar findings, although less striking, were apparent in Australian under 18 players, with 24 and 4% above the 90th and 97th percentiles for height, respectively, and 25% of players above the 97th percentile for body mass [32]. Therefore, youth players are taller and heavier than the general population, with greater size an advantage for participation and performance in youth rugby league.…”

Section: Anthropometric Qualitiesmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…It is recommended that practitioners are aware of the variability in the development of height and body mass into adulthood, and track such measures in their players into the early 20s. In addition, data on further anthropometric characteristics such as limb length, limb circumference and muscle cross-sectional area [23], as well as somatotype [32], are limited in current research and may provide a more detailed evaluation of the anthropometric characteristics important for player development within youth rugby league players. Other factors such as ethnicity also require further consideration [32].…”

Section: Anthropometric Qualitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sum of skinfolds generally does not differentiate between age categories [17, 19–21, 23, 25] but does differ between junior and senior sub-elite players [39], is reduced in elite compared with sub-elite players [13, 27, 28], and is greater in forwards than backs [17, 21, 32, 39]. Research findings generally show sum of four skinfold values of 30 and 40 mm in backs and forwards, respectively [21], with recent research using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) demonstrating body composition values of 16 and 20% for backs and forwards, respectively [30].…”

Section: Body Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Anthropometric and Physical Qualities of Elite Male Youth Rugby League Players

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rugby league is a collision team sport played at junior and senior levels worldwide, whereby players require highly developed anthropometric and physical qualities (i.e. speed, change-of-direction speed, aerobic capacity, muscular strength and power). Within junior levels, professional clubs and national governing bodies implement talent identification and development programmes to support the development of youth (i.e. 13–20 years) rugby league players into professional athletes. This review presents and critically appraises the anthropometric and physical qualities of elite male youth rugby league players aged between 13 and 20 years, by age category, playing standard and playing position. Height, body mass, body composition, linear speed, change-of-direction speed, aerobic capacity, muscular strength and power characteristics are presented and demonstrate that qualities develop with age and differentiate between playing standard and playing position. This highlights the importance of anthropometric and physical qualities for the identification and development of youth rugby league players. However, factors such as maturity status, variability in development, longitudinal monitoring and career attainment should be considered to help understand, identify and develop the physical qualities of youth players. Further extensive research is required into the anthropometric and physical qualities of youth rugby league players, specifically considering national standardised testing batteries, links between physical qualities and match performance, together with intervention studies, to inform the physical development of youth rugby league players for talent identification and development purposes.

show abstract

Anthropometric characteristics of Australian junior representative rugby league players

Cited by 21 publications

References 22 publications

Incidence and characteristics of injuries in elite Australian junior rugby league players

Incidence and characteristics of injuries in elite Australian junior rugby league players

Body composition characteristics of elite Australian rugby union athletes according to playing position and ethnicity

Anthropometric and Physical Qualities of Elite Male Youth Rugby League Players

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About