The Athletic Performance of Elite Rugby League Players Is Improved After an 8-Week Small-Sided Game Training Intervention

Jul 11, 2013Journal of strength and conditioning research

Elite rugby league players improve athletic performance after 8 weeks of small-sided game training

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Abstract

An 8-week small-sided game training intervention led to a 1.29% improvement in the 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test among elite rugby league players.

Significant improvements were observed in sprint times: 10-m (−3.17%), 20-m (−1.37%), and 40-m (−0.96%).
Mean sprint time decreased by −2.11% following the training intervention.
Total sprint time also showed a significant reduction of −2.11%.
The percentage of sprint decrement during repeated sprints improved from 7.10% to 5.93%.
These findings suggest that small-sided games may enhance intermittent running and sprinting performance.

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The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of a small-sided game training intervention on the intermittent shuttle running performance, speed, and repeated sprint ability of elite rugby league players during the competitive phase of a rugby league season. Ten elite rugby league players from a Stobart Super League team academy underwent 2 small-sided game sessions per week over an 8-week period. Each session consisted of four 10-minute blocks of 1 small-sided game, interspersed with a 3-minute recovery. Changes in physical performance were assessed before and after the training intervention with an intermittent shuttle running test (30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test), speed tests (10-, 20-, and 40-m linear sprints) and a repeated sprint ability test (8 × 20-m linear sprint, departing every 20 seconds). Results showed that the 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test (+1.29%), 10-m (-3.17%), 20-m (-1.37%), and 40-m (-0.96%) sprint times and mean sprint time (-2.11%), total sprint time (-2.11%), and percentage of sprint decrement (7.10 vs. 5.93%) during the repeated sprint ability test were significantly improved after the training intervention. Based on these results, it was concluded that an 8-week small-sided game training intervention was an effective method for improving the physical performance of elite rugby league players during the competitive phase of the season.

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The Athletic Performance of Elite Rugby League Players Is Improved After an 8-Week Small-Sided Game Training Intervention

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