Load Monitoring for Rugby Union Players

The primary purpose of athlete load monitoring is to maximize sporting performance and minimise the risk of injury (or lost training days). 
In order to achieve this, you need to ensure that you are:

  1. collecting/recording the information regularly and consistently to ensure reliability
  2. verify it is practical to obtain (ie, if you are travelling and/or in hotels etc.) 
  3. analyze information at the time of collection
  4. interpret the results against agreed team specific standards
  5. discuss the results with the relevant medical staff, coaches and athletes
  6. effect immediate change to the planned training sessions for that day/week
  7. assess and review their effectiveness at achieving your agreed goals



Daily Measures

GPS and heart rate monitoring

GPS units have been used since 2010 to quantify athletes training load and performance such as, training time, distance ran, speeds produced and number of acceleration/de-acceleration/agility movements.
The data is collected and modified for the purposes of (1) determining what the athletes actually do in a test match/Super 15 game, (2) modify our planned training loads to ensure athletes are training at levels required for games, (3) monitoring how athletes are coping with training/playing loads, and (4) prepare a ‘return to sport’ rehabilitation program for all injured athletes. 

Training Sessions

All training sessions are recorded and coded for athletes to review their position, role play/patterns and skill execution on laptops at their leisure. This includes all the skill components of lineout’s, scrimmaging and goal kicking. 

Physiotherapy Treatment 

This is available daily for athletes.

Medical Meetings and Reviews

The medical team (sports physician and physiotherapists) and conditioning coach meet two to three times per day to discuss the individual training status of athletes. This is typically before the morning training session, after the training session (for any modifications to the afternoon’s weights sessions) and at the end of the day, post-afternoon physiotherapy treatment.



Weekly Measures

Medical Screening and Online Injury Prevention System 

The Injury Prevention System (IPS) is completed every Monday morning. It takes about 10 minuets to complete, and asks a series of questions about the athlete’s physical measures, football played, any injuries sustained and a series of subjective self-rating scales. Every athlete is then required to meet with the team sports physician to discuss their results and assess any injury the may have with the view of determining their training status for Monday. 

Physiotherapy review and rehabilitation programs 

Each athlete sees one or two physiotherapists, they each have an individual written ongoing rehabilitation program. That covers their current acute injuries and/or injury history profiles. Weekly strength dynamometer testing on various athletes to monitor muscular skeletal recovery from weekend games and weekly training loads. 

Specific flexibility and rehabilitation group sessions 

Each week compulsory flexibility/stretch sessions (twice per week) for the front row and forwards, and rehabilitation sessions (twice per week) for those athletes who need to spend additional time mastering and progressing their individual rehabilitation. The ‘Front row flexibility’ session is specifically directed at ensuring each of these athletes has the ability to reach and maintain the required ‘scrumming position. The athletes perform a series of join mobilizations (lower back, ankle), stretches(lower back, psoas, gluts, and hamstring) and neural glides (lower limb) for approximately 20-30minutes. The ‘rehabilitation’ session involves approximately four to eight athletes who are either new and relatively young in terms of playing years, are returning from long-term injuries or simply prefer to be challenged in a group environment. 


Measures Completed at Regular Intervals Throughout the Season

Monitoring injured athletes not with the team

Given the nature of the demanding season any athletes that sustain significant injuries return home to their franchise state to complete their rehabilitation, until they are declared fit to train or are available for selection. This involves a coordinated approach between the conditioning coaches and medical teams of both the wallabies and franchises. The search for the balance between training load, training effect, and athletic performance, contributing factors is a constantly evolving equilibrium.