Physical and Physiological Demands of Elite Rugby Union Officials

Purpose : To examine the movement and physiological demands of rugby union officiating in elite competition. Methods : Movement demands of 9 elite officials across 12 Super Rugby matches were calculated, using global positioning system devices. Total distance (in m), relative distance (in m·min −1 ), and percentage time spent in various speed zones were calculated across a match. Heart-rate (HR) responses were also recorded throughout each match. Cohen d effect sizes were reported to examine the within-match variations. Results : The total distance covered was 8030 (506) m, with a relative distance of 83 (5) m·min −1 and with no differences observed between halves. Most game time was spent at lower movement speeds (76% 2%; 7.0 m·s −1 between halves ( d = 2.85). Mean HR was 154 (10) beats·min −1 (83.8 2.9%HR max ), with no differences observed between the first and second halves. Most game time was spent between 81%HR max and 90%HR max (40.5% 7.5%) with no observable differences between halves. Distances covered above 5.1 m·s −1 were highest during the first 10 min of a match, while distance at speeds 3.7 to 5 m·s −1 decreased during the final 10 min of play. Conclusions : These findings highlight the highly demanding and intermittent nature of rugby union officiating, with only some minor variations in physical and physiological demands across a match. These results have implications for the physical preparation of professional rugby union referees.