"Outlier detection: Underused in sport science despite outliers' impact on inference and prediction".

Outlier detection is critical in statistical analysis and predictive modelling, but it is often overlooked in research, leading to potentially inaccurate conclusions. This study aimed to (1) assess the prevalence of outlier detection strategies in sport science publications, (2) examine the effect of outliers on statistical inference using general linear mixed-effects models with longitudinal data, and (3) evaluate the impact of outliers on regression predictive models using the same dataset. A systematic literature search of 4,622 articles published in 2023 in Q1 journals in "sport science" category found that only 9.

The contributing external load factors to internal load during small-sided games in professional rugby union players.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate which external load variables were associated with internal load during three small-sided games (SSG) in professional rugby union players.

Methods: Forty professional rugby union players (22 forwards, 18 backs) competing in the English Gallagher Premiership were recruited. Three different SSGs were designed: one for backs, one for forwards, and one for both backs and forwards.

Designing a small-sided game to elicit attacking tactical behaviour in professional rugby union forwards.

This study aimed to investigate the consistency of attacking tactical and technical behaviour, and physical characteristics, over multiple bouts, and variability across days, of a specific rugby union forwards small-sided game (SSG). Data was collected from 21 professional rugby union forwards during four training sessions. The SSG, consisting of five bouts of work (150-s) interspersed by passive recovery (75-s), aimed to elicit specific attacking tactical behaviour.

Identifying the Current State and Improvement Opportunities in the Information Flows Necessary to Manage Professional Athletes: A Case Study in Rugby Union.

In sporting environments, the knowledge necessary to manage athletes is built on information flows associated with player management processes. In current literature, there are limited case studies available to illustrate how such information flows are optimized. Hence, as the first step of an optimization project, this study aimed to evaluate the current state and the improvement opportunities in the player management information flow executed within the High-Performance Unit (HPU) at a professional rugby union club in England.

Digitally Optimizing the Information Flows Necessary to Manage Professional Athletes: A Case Study in Rugby Union.

Practical case studies elaborating end-to-end attempts to improve the quality of information flows associated with athlete management processes are scarce in the current sport literature. Therefore, guided by a Business Process Management (BPM) approach, the current study presents the outcomes from a case study to optimize the quality of strength and conditioning (S&C) information flow in the performance department of a professional rugby union club. Initially, the S&C information flow was redesigned using integral technology, activity elimination and activity automation redesign heuristics.

A systematic review of small sided games within rugby: Acute and chronic effects of constraints manipulation.

Small-sided games is a commonly used training method to develop technical, tactical and physical qualities concurrently. However, a review of small-sided games in rugby football codes (e.g.