Body composition and VO2max of rugby players according to the game position

Abstract

Rugby is a group Sport played in a open Field with 100 meters of length and 70 meters of width. The matches are made in 2 times with 40 minutes of duration and a timeout of 10 minutes between them, it can be played by 2 teams with 15 or 7 athletes divided in forwards (eight players that have the mission of recovering the Ball when a player is knocked down) and backs (seven players that have to advance by the opponents fields and make points). During a game, it’s required that the athletes recover their energy supply in small intervals or during low intensity exercises. In this way, the maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max), an aerobic power indicator, becomes a very important variable on high level rugby play. That being said, this research had the general objective of measuring the body composition and maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) of rugby athletes from the city of Manaus; the main objective is to compare the results between the game positions occupied by the athletes (forwards and backs). Two rugby teams, adult category that have played the official rugby games from the Liga Norte de Rugby in the year of 2015 were selected. The athletes undertook the pletismography test to determine the body composition and the Yo-yo IRT1 test for aerobic power. There was a significant difference in the body composition of athletes on both teams on the different positions; the aerobic power did not show any significant difference between the groups. The data found confirms what is said on the foreign literature. It is recommended that similar studies be done to help trainers and sport professionals to a more precise prescription and evidence based.