Long-Term Rugby Player Development: An Integrative Review of Physical, Psychological, and Injury-Prevention Pathways
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53905/inspiree.v7i01.162Keywords:
long-term athlete development, youth rugby, strength and conditioning, injury prevention, tackle technique, psychosocial skillsAbstract
The purpose of the study. This review synthesizes evidence on long-term rugby player development, emphasizing age-appropriate training, position-specific conditioning, injury prevention, and psychosocial support across developmental stages.
Materials and methods. A structured literature review approach was used. Sources were selected to represent (i) long-term athlete development (LTAD) and youth physical development, (ii) rugby-specific strength and conditioning, (iii) injury epidemiology and injury-prevention programmes, and (iv) psychosocial/mental skills needs in collision sports. The manuscript corpus reported 30 included sources (journal articles, books, and web-based governing-body resources).
Results. Evidence consistently supports: (1) stage-appropriate progression (fundamental skills → training-to-train → training-to-compete/performance), (2) integrated strength, neuromuscular, and contact-technique development for performance and safety, (3) injury risk being strongly concentrated in contact events (notably tackles), with structured prevention programmes (e.g., Activate) demonstrating meaningful reductions in youth rugby injury outcomes, and (4) psychosocial skills (goal-setting, resilience, stress management) as essential to sustain participation and optimize transitions.
Conclusions. Long-term rugby development is best supported through multidisciplinary, stage-sensitive programming that combines physical preparation, technical-tactical learning, injury-risk management, and structured psychosocial support, while explicitly addressing implementation barriers (coach capacity, adherence, and resource inequities).
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