Ball-In-Play Running Demands in Women’s Rugby Sevens: A Comparative Study of Pool Stage and Knockout Matches in the 2023 Super Sevens Championship

Abstract

Purpose: This study compared the ball-in-play (BIP) running demands between pool stage and knockout matches in professional women’s rugby sevens. Methods: Twenty official matches from the 2023 Super Sevens Championship were analyzed, involving 21 full-time professional athletes (mean age 25.4 ± 6.0 years) from a single team. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology was employed to quantify BIP duration, distance covered per minute, sprint distance per minute (defined as speeds exceeding 18 km/h), and the number of accelerations per minute (above 3.0 m/s²) during both pool stage (n = 12 matches) and knockout stage (n = 8 matches) games. The tournament comprised four events, each featuring three pool matches on the first day and two knockout matches on the second day. Comparisons between the pool stage and knockout stage matches were conducted using Paired Samples T-tests, and effect sizes were reported as Cohen’s d. Results: The analysis revealed no significant differences between match types for distance per minute (p = .167; d = 0.544), sprint distance per minute (p = .252; d = 0.442), or accelerations per minute (p = .199; d = 0.502). However, longer BIP durations were observed in the knockout stage matches (difference of 6.1%; p = .022; d = 1.034). Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of tailored training interventions focusing on sustaining performance under fatigue conditions and emphasize the value of analyzing BIP metrics to avoid underestimating match demands.