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High-speed running (>5 m · s⁻¹) is commonly reported in men's rugby union and sevens; however, the appropriateness of using the same speed threshold for Women's Rugby Sevens players is unclear, and likely underestimates the degree of high-intensity exercise completed by female players. The aim of this study was to establish, for international Women's Rugby Sevens players, a physiologically defined threshold - speed at the second ventilatory threshold (VT(2peed)) - for the analysis of high-intensity running, using mean and individualised thresholds. Game movement patterns (using 5 Hz GPS) of 12 international Women's Rugby Sevens players (23.5 ± 4.9 ears, 1.68 ± 0.04 m, 68.2 ± 7.7 kg; mean ± s) were collected at an international tournament. Seven of these players also completed a treadmill VO(2max) test to estimate VT(2speed). Compared to the mean VT(2speed) threshold (3.5 m · s⁻¹), the industry-used threshold of 5 m · s⁻¹ underestimated the absolute amount of high-intensity running completed by individual players by up to 30%. Using an individualised threshold, high-intensity running could over- or underestimating high-intensity running by up to 14% compared to the mean VT(2peed) threshold. The use of individualised thresholds provides an accurate individualised assessment of game demands to inform the prescription of training.
Clarke et al. (Mon,) studied this question.