Journal of Sports Science and Medicine
Journal of Sports Science and Medicine
ISSN: 1303 - 2968   
Ios-APP Journal of Sports Science and Medicine
Follow us
  
Views
222
Download
156
 
©Journal of Sports Science and Medicine ( 2025 )  24 ,  713  -  720   DOI: https://doi.org/10.52082/jssm.2025.713

Research article
Comparison of Ball-in-Play Running Demands Across Game Phases and The Relationship between Physical and Technical Variables: An Analysis of The 2024 Female Super Sevens Tournament
Filipe Oliveira Bicudo1, Lucas Savassi Figueiredo2, Amanda Franco da Silva3, Hugo Sarmento4, Jocelyn Solomons5, Filipe Manuel Clemente6,7, Henrique de Oliveira Castro1, 
Author Information
1 Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso – UFMT, Cuiabá, MT, Brazil
2 Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais – UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
3 Universidade Federal de Pelotas - UFPel, Pelotas, RS, Brazil
4 University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
5 Division of Sport Science, Stellenbsoch University (SU), Stellenbosch, South Africa
6 Research Center in Sports Performance, Recreation, Innovation and Technology - SPRINT, Rio Maior, Portugal
7 Department of Biomechanics and Sport Engineering, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Gdansk, Poland

Henrique de Oliveira Castro
✉ Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso – UFMT, Cuiabá, MT, Brazil.
Email: henriquecastro88@yahoo.com.br
Publish Date
Received: 02-07-2025
Accepted: 09-08-2025
Published (online): 01-12-2025
Narrated in English
 
 
ABSTRACT

Quantifying the most intense periods of Rugby Sevens matches is essential for optimizing training and improving performance. This study aimed to: (i) compare ball-in-play (BIP) running demands across game phases (attack, defense, and transition), and (ii) examine correlations between BIP duration and physical and technical variables. Eighteen professional female Rugby Sevens athletes were monitored across 18 matches in the 2024 Super Sevens Championship (Brazil) using 10-Hz GPS units and post-match video analysis. Friedman tests revealed significant phase differences for sprint distance per minute, χ2(2, N = 310) = 11.98, p = .003, η2 = .032; sprints per minute, χ2(2, N = 310) = 7.45, p = .024, η2 = .018; and decelerations per minute, χ2(2, N = 310) = 10.00, p = .007, η2 = .026. Post hoc analyses showed greater sprint output during the attacking phase (p < .05). No significant differences were found for distance per minute or accelerations per minute (p > .05). Spearman correlations indicated negative relationships between BIP duration and sprints (ρ = -.125, p = .027) and accelerations per minute (ρ = –.191, p < .001). Conversely, BIP duration showed significant positive correlations with several technical actions, including tackles (ρ = .578, p < .001), passes (ρ = .325, p < .001), and rucks (ρ = .321, p < .001). These findings underscore the importance of game-phase-specific conditioning and suggest that longer BIP durations are characterized by reduced physical intensity but increased technical engagement.

Key words: Rugby, physical demands, external load, training load, match performance, athletic performance, performance analysis


           Key Points
  • Game-phase analysis revealed higher sprint output in attack compared with defence and transition.
  • Longer BIP periods were associated with lower external load.
  • Extended BIP durations were positively correlated with most of the technical variables analyzed.
 
 
Home Issues About Authors
Contact Current Editorial board Authors instructions
Email alerts In Press Mission For Reviewers
Archive Scope
Supplements Statistics
Most Read Articles
  Most Cited Articles
 
  
 
JSSM | Copyright 2001-2025 | All rights reserved. | LEGAL NOTICES | Publisher

It is forbidden the total or partial reproduction of this web site and the published materials, the treatment of its database, any kind of transition and for any means, either electronic, mechanic or other methods, without the previous written permission of the JSSM.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.