ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
This article is part of the Research TopicWomen in Sports and Exercise: Public Health and PromotionView all 11 articles
Identifying Key Performance Tests in Differentiating Starting and Substitute Women Rugby Players: A Discriminant Function Analysis
Provisionally accepted
Cebrail Gençoğlu1
Cemre Can Akkaya2*
Erkan TORTU3
Abdulkadir Birol3Osman Ates4
Abdullah Demirli4
İzzet İnce5
Salih Çabuk1
Süleyman Ulupınar1
Serhat Özbay1- 1Erzurum Teknik Universitesi, Erzurum, Türkiye
- 2Istanbul Yeni Yüzyıl University, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 3Trabzon Universitesi, Trabzon, Türkiye
- 4Istanbul Universitesi-Cerrahpasa, Avcılar, Türkiye
- 5Ankara Yildirim Beyazit Universitesi, Ankara, Türkiye
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Aim/Background: This study aims to identify the performance tests with the highest discriminatory power for distinguishing between starting and substitute female rugby players. Method: A total of 24 female rugby players, who regularly participated in official league competitions and engaged in structured training on a regular basis, voluntarily participated in this study. The players were divided into two groups: starting players (age: 25.83±3.81 years, height: 165.17±5.83 cm, body mass: 61.08±5.00 kg) and substitute players (age: 26.08±3.12 years, height: 163.75±5.33 cm, body mass: 60.42±4.52 kg). Wingate, sprints (30 m), squat jump test, visual reaction and VO2max performance tests were administered to the participants. Independent sample t-tests were used to analyze the statistical differences between player groups. Cohen's d effect sizes are also calculated and classified according to the Hopkins. Subsequently, discriminant function analysis was applied to determine which tests had higher discriminatory power between starting and substitute rugby players. Results: Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between starting and substitute players in several performance variables, with starting players showing superior results in all performance tests, characterized by t-values ranging from 1.572 to 4.934, p-values < 0.001 to 0.130, and Cohen's d effect sizes from 0.64 to 2.01. Discriminant function analysis identified the most discriminatory tests as sprint maximum sprint speed and Winmean (both 87.5%), followed by 5m sprint, Winpeak, and performance decrease (PD) (all 83.3%). Conclusion: Maximum sprint speed and Wingatemean, with their superior discriminatory capabilities, are recommended for accurately assessing performance levels and differentiating player roles on the field, thereby enhancing training and selection processes in rugby.
Keywords: Female athletes1, Female rugby players2, Performance testing3, Playerselection4, Discriminant analysis5
Received: 11 Oct 2025; Accepted: 24 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gençoğlu, Akkaya, TORTU, Birol, Ates, Demirli, İnce, Çabuk, Ulupınar and Özbay. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Cemre Can Akkaya
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