Sport Science Lab® Screening Protocol: The association between physical fitness Parameters and injury among elite rugby players.

Context And Objectives: The Sport Science Lab® (SSL®) screening protocol includes novel methods of assessing flexibility, strength, plyometric ability and rugby specific fitness. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between these tests and injury among professional rugby players.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Fitness facilities of participating teams.

Participants: Thirty-nine injury-free, elite, adult (>18 years), male rugby players.

Main Outcome Measures: The test battery consisted of eleven flexibility-, nine strength- and six plyometric tests and a rugby specific fitness test (RSFT). Injuries were recorded weekly during the 2019 rugby season. Associations between test results and injuries were analysed utilising suitable tests of association i.e., sensitivity, specificity, false positive rate, false negative rate, positive predictive value and negative predictive value and odds ratios (OR) (with confidence intervals (CI)). Bivariate correlations and logistic regression were performed to assess the relationship of the predictor variables to the outcome.

Results: Players who achieved the set standard for the RSFT (OR = 3.17; 95% CI = 0.79-12.75), triple horizontal broad jump (OR = 2.40; 95% CI = 0.86-19.61) and lateral depth jumps (OR = 2.40-3.44; 95% CI = 0.53-18.84) were two to three times less likely to sustain an injury during the season.

Conclusion: Players with superior rugby specific fitness and cyclic linear- and lateral plyometric ability, may have a decreased risk of sustaining injuries.