DCU collaborates with GAA on study of coaching of international women’s rugby players

Digging into the attitudes, beliefs and practices of strength and conditioning coaches in international women’s rugby union, the study draws on eight semi structured interviews with elite level coaches. The interviews probed how coaches adapted their methods when working with male or female players

In the study, published in the Q1 publication The Journal of Sports Sciences, coaches stated that they found female athletes tended to seek more information around training methods, as opposed to male players who were described as more task orientated.

Female players were also found to be more expressive and open leading to more collaborative relationships with coaches. In contrast male players were more reserved. 

In particular coaches found it important to acknowledge and discuss menstrual cycle related issue with female players in order to build trust and ensure athletes were able to manage their symptoms effectively.

Coaches also shared previous professional situations where pregnancy testing was introduced to ensure player welfare by avoiding undetected pregnancies among active players, and encouraging safe sex practices from the same perspective.

Overall, the study concludes that practitioners should not assume that players have tacit knowledge of physical preparation and other welfare issues, and that clear task specific communication and supportive player coach relationships are important.