Speed Demands of Women’s Rugby Sevens Match Play: The Role of Maximal Velocity and Playing Position

Running speed has emerged as a much sought-after performance characteristic in rugby sevens athletes, however little is known about the specific speed demands of women’s match play. The purpose of this study was to quantify the absolute and relative running speed demands of elite women’s rugby sevens match play, and determine the importance of maximal velocity running to performance. Individual maximal running velocity (Vmax) was established for 12 professional female rugby sevens athletes, prior to the collection of global positioning system (GPS) data during all six games of an international tournament. Both absolute and relative running distances and velocities were analysed to establish game demands, and the subjective importance of each maximal velocity sprint was established using visual analogue scale (VAS) ratings of player video clips. The mean peak velocity reached per game by all players was 90.6 ± 7.9% Vmax. Backs and forwards covered similar absolute distances (1556 ± 233m per game), but backs reached significantly (p<0.05) higher Vpeaks, conducted more sprints at ≥ 90% Vmax and covered more distance at high-speeds than forwards. More than half of the sprints peaking at ≥ 90% Vmax were considered influential or very influential to game outcomes. These findings suggest that maximal velocity sprinting is important to women’s rugby sevens performance, and that high speed demands are different for backs and forwards.