Control of the physical and technical fitness of elite professional rugby union players

Abstract

Background. Rugby is one of the most popular sports abroad, that must have good physical, psychological, physiological, functional, technical condition for every athlete. The search for set of tests for monitoring the physical and technical fitness to achieve the successful performance of an athlete or a team in major competitions in Elite Professional Rugby Union Players continues to be an urgent problem. Purpose. This study aims to substantiate and develop a set of tests for monitoring the physical and technical fitness of rugby players aged 17-18. Material and Methods. There were eighty-seven male rugby players aged 17-18 from Ukrainian National team U18. All athletes volunteered to participate in the research. The following research methods have been used to solve the tasks of the research: analysis and synthesis of literature of the research topic; pedagogical observations; testing the technical, tactical and physical fitness; methods of mathematical and statistical analysis which are scientifically based and are widely used in sports science (correlation and factor analysis). The object of research is the indicators of the technical, tactical skills and physical fitness of 17-18 years old rugby players. Results. The authors offer the unified testing program and general quantitative criteria in the tests. Two approaches have been used as the main criteria for the informative tests – logical one, based on the explanation of physiological mechanism that determine high efficiency of players in the conditions of gaming activities, and empirical approach, based on the information about the factor structure and the validity of the tests used for these purposes. Information on the level of fitness of players at each stage can be used selectively in connection with aims and objectives that contribute to the management of the training process in general. Conclusions. With the help of motor and ergonomic tests, a general set of guidelines has been substantiated, which allowed to assess the state of technical, tactical and physical fitness of rugby players aged 17-18.