Comparison between Natural Turf and Artificial Turf on Agility Performance of Rugby Union Players

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in agility performance with natural turf (NT) and artificial turf (AT) surface in rugby union players on the repeated sprint, cut and turn movements and if any differences exist between holding the ball or not in relation to agility performance. Twelve tertiary rugby union players (mean ± SD age, 21.2 ± 2.0 years) participated in the study. Players underwent measurements of anthropometry (height, body mass). Running tests investigated were 40-meter sprinting, change of direction, and “L” run, with all tests for agility measured in two sets with ball and without ball respectively. Results indicated that subjects showed significantly better overall agility performance (P < 0.05) in sprinting (NT: 6.40 ± 0.26 seconds, AT: 6.24 ± 0.26 seconds) and turning (NT: 6.40 ± 0.44 seconds, AT: 5.96 ± 0.38 seconds) on AT than NT. Although the time counted of cutting on AT was faster than on NT (NT: 13.85 ± 0.61 seconds, AT: 13.55 ± 0.68 seconds), the result was not significant. The findings also indicated that running with the ball for 40 meters would not slow the players down as there was a counter effect on the ground surface and ball carrying, while the turning movement was affected by both effects.