Needs Analysis

Analysis of Sport

The centre in rugby is required to frequently make tackles. Initial impact is made with the shoulder; the force of the tackle comes from the legs. Powerful extension of the quadriceps and glutes provide the force behind the tackle (Usman et al., 2011). Rucks and mauls require more push and pull from the pectorals, deltoids, and biceps. Rugby is a multidirectional sport with frequent changes in direction and gait (Nicholas, 1997). Lower body agility is vital for opponent evasion; e.g. cutting movements (Green et al., 2011). Upper body agility also allows players to break tackles and offload the ball.

 It has been shown that the period of high intensity work accounts for 15% of the game (Duthie et al., 2003). Key energy systems for rugby include aerobic system and ATP-PC system. Key requirements for rugby are power and strength; these must be balanced with endurance, as rugby is a continuous sport. Recovery is often as short as 30 seconds with a work:rest ratio of ~1:1-1.9 (Duthie et al., 2003).

The most common cause of injury is strains and sprains comprising 41.5% of injuries and contusions contributing 22.8% (Chalmers et al., 2012). A key area for injury occurrence is contact situations. The only equipment requirement is a gumshield and studded boots.

Athlete Evaluation

The athlete is experienced with free-weights and resistance exercise. He demonstrates good technique and is used to heavy training. Functional movement screening is used to assess the athlete’s ability. Agility drills were performed well, however the transitions were not completed effectively. When combined with poor results in balance mechanics during a variety of drills suggests the need for prehabilitation exercise on the ankle that was injured in the past 18 months as this could affect their performance in these areas.

The athlete is currently in the off-season. There is little sport specific training in this stage with the focus mainly on strength and power gains and hypertrophy. The athlete can be considered as an advanced level physically trained person as they have been training for more than one year and train more than 4x per week at a high intensity and work load (Baechle & Earle, 2008). The primary training goal for a rugby player during the off-season is to stimulate hypertrophy and strength gains. The secondary focus of off-season training is to develop power, as during the pre-season and competitive season the aim of training is to develop anaerobic tolerance and aerobic muscular fitness.