Forskning

December 22, 2016

Effects of caffeine ingestion on skill performance during an international female rugby sevens competition

J Portillo et al, 2016. Effects of caffeine ingestion on skill performance during an international female rugby sevens competition, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, published online.

ABSTRACT:

The aim of this study was to establish the effects of a caffeine-containing energy drink on skills and technical performance during a match in female elite rugby sevens players. On two non-consecutive days of a friendly tournament, sixteen women from the Spanish national rugby-sevens team (mean age = 23±2 yr) ingested 3 mg of caffeine per kg of body mass in the form of an energy drink or the same drink without caffeine (placebo drink). After sixty minutes for caffeine absorption, participants played three rugby sevens matches against another national team. Body impacts during the matches were assessed by triaxial accelerometers. The matches were videotaped and each individual technical action was notated afterwards by two experienced observers. In comparison to the placebo drink, the ingestion of the caffeinated energy drink increased the rate of body impacts in Zone 1 (16.1±4.9 vs 20.8±9.9 impacts/min, P<0.05); Zone 2 (12.2±10.6 vs 16.2±15.2 impacts/min, P<0.05); Zone 3 (3.8±1.5 vs 4.7±2.6 impacts/min, P<0.05) and Zone 5 (0.8±0.4 vs 1.1 ±0.6 impacts/min, P<0.05). The pre-exercise ingestion of the caffeinated energy drink did not affect the frequency or the quality of any rugby-specific technical actions during the games. In conclusion, the ingestion of 3 mg/kg of caffeine in the form of an energy drink increased the number of body impacts during a rugby sevens international competition which suggests a higher engagement of the players during the game. However, the caffeine ingestion did not influence the quality of the technical actions performed during the competition.