Dimundo et al 2021 Frontiers Talent id in English Premiership RU academy - multidisciplinary characteristics of u15 players.pdf (263.71 kB)
Download fileTalent identification in an English Premiership rugby union academy: multidisciplinary characteristics of selected and non-selected male under-15 players
journal contribution
posted on 2022-02-23, 12:02 authored by Francesco Dimundo, Matthew Cole, Richard BlagroveRichard Blagrove, Alexander B. T. McAuley, Kevin Till, Adam L. KellyEntry into an academy can be a defining moment for a promising young player. The aim of this study was to explore the multidimensional characteristics that differentiated selected and non-selected male under-15 rugby union players at an English Premiership academy. Seventy-four players (mean age 14.6 ± 0.3 years: selected n = 29; non-selected n = 45) were measured across nine characteristics from four overarching factors: (a) anthropometric (n = 2), (b) physiological (n = 5), (c) cognitive (n = 1), and (d) birth quartile. An ANOVA compared differences between groups (selected vs. non-selected), whilst a Welch's t-test and Cohen's d were used for further comparisons. A multivariate logistic regression was also used to predict selection. Results showed significant differences between selected and non-selected players for anthropometric (P = 0.021) and physiological factors (P < 0.001). Moreover, relatively older players were overrepresented with 65% born in the first half of the year, whereas no significant differences were apparent for the cognitive test. More specifically, selected players possessed greater body mass (P = 0.022, d = 0.5) and handgrip strength (P = 0.020, d = 0.5) compared to non-selected players, whilst multivariate analysis showed the 20 m sprint explained 25.4% of the variance (P = 0.001). Overall, it appears selection into an English Premiership rugby union academy may be due to enhanced physical attributes rather than cognitive abilities.
History
School
- Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Published in
Frontiers in Sports and Active LivingVolume
3Publisher
Frontiers MediaVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Rights holder
© The AuthorsPublisher statement
This is an Open Access Article. It is published by Frontiers Media under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Acceptance date
2021-05-17Publication date
2021-06-11Copyright date
2021eISSN
2624-9367Publisher version
Language
- en