Scottish rugby union sponsored PhD studentship in collaboration with the Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University 

Funding will consist of UK full tuition fees for three years and the award of a living stipend at UK Research Council rates (£15,609 per annum pro-rata into 12 monthly payments). Funding will be subject to satisfactory progress.

A laptop will be provided and the opportunity to apply for funding to support the research project.

THE HOLISTIC PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT OF ELITE INTERNATIONAL RUGBY UNION PLAYERS

(Supervisory Team; Dr Carlos Ramirez, Professor Kevin Till)

Talent identification and development systems are now commonplace in supporting aspiring rugby union players to achieve future sporting success (Till & Baker, 2020). One key aspect of such systems has been the assessment, profiling and monitoring of player potential through the assessment of distinct anthropometric and physical performance markers across playing levels and developmental pathways (McCormack, et al., 2021; Owen, et al., 2020; Till, et al., 2020). For example, objective fitness tests are implemented to evaluate an athlete’s prerequisites of sporting performance by assessing their physical qualities and inform player assessment and development processes.

Given the physicality of rugby union, markers such as size, strength, speed, and fitness have been deemed important for talent identification and development purposes (Owen, et al., 2020). This has resulted in the SRU conducting an ongoing national standardised physical profiling battery with over 8 years of historical data. However, while physical qualities are important for rugby union success, a range of ‘holistic’ (e.g., technical, tactical, psychosocial) qualities are required for young players to succeed in the long-term (Cupples & O'Connor, 2011; Till et al., 2020) and are often not contemplated by researchers in physical performance development. Mixed-methods research, which encompasses the use of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to understand particular phenomena, could be a valuable tool to provide perspective into elite physical performance development (Kay, M., & Kucera, K., 2018). Therefore, this research project will aim to use a mixed-methods approach for developing a holistic understanding of the qualities required by youth rugby union players to successfully progress throughout the national player development pathway in Scotland.

As such, this project will involve the successful candidate continuing and building upon the implementation of the SRU national physical testing battery and data visualisation system whilst considering other areas of holistic player development assessment. We encourage candidates to be innovative in their applications and demonstrate specific or multiple strengths within research methods (e.g., data science, qualitative) to help achieve the projects aims. The aim is to leave a legacy on the talent identification, development, coaching and other practices within international rugby union.

Alongside the research, the successful candidate will be based in Edinburgh and embedded into Scottish Rugby Union’s physical performance and development departments. From a practitioner’s point of view, the successful candidate will be supported by Head of Physical Performance, Stuart Yule, Athletic Development Manager, Andy Boyd, and National Team Sports Scientist Dr Carlos Ramirez. The candidate will engage in approx. 10-15 hours of practical delivery per week, providing the sports science support to the Scotland Under-20 squad and work closely with Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby professional academies. 

Applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposals with the project lead Dr Carlos Ramirez (c.ramirez@leedsbeckett.ac.uk) and Professor Kevin Till (k.till@leedsbeckett.ac.uk)

1. Cupples, B., & O'Connor, D. (2011). The development of position-specific performance indicators in elite youth rugby league: A coach's perspective. International journal of sports science & coaching, 6(1), 125-141.
2. Kay M., & Kucera, K. (2018). Mixed Methods Designs for Sports Medicine Research. Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 37(3), 401-412.
3. McCormack, S., Jones, B., Elliott, D., Rotheram, D., & Till, K. (2021). Coaches’ Assessment of Players Physical Performance: Subjective and Objective Measures are needed when Profiling Players. European Journal of Sport Science, 1-11.
4. Owen, C., Till, K., Weakley, J., & Jones, B. (2020) Testing methods and physical qualities of male age grade rugby union players: A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 15(6), e0233796.
5. Till, K., & Baker, J. (2020). Challenges and [possible] solutions to optimizing talent identification and development in sport. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 664.
6. Till, K., Weakley, J., Read, D. et al. (2020). Applied Sport Science for Male Age-Grade Rugby Union in England. Sports Medicine - Open 6, 14.

As part of your application, please provide a CV, cover letter and research proposal. The proposal should align to the above theme and include a brief literature review related to this project, with an outline of the studies that you would propose to the answer the aims of the PhD (maximum 5 pages single spaced).

We can only consider complete applications. The research degree application is complete once you have uploaded all of the following:

1. Your application form (include the project reference CARRSC01)
2. Your research proposal, statement of purpose and CV on the Research Proposal Template
   
3. Copies of your bachelors and master certificates, including transcripts
4. Copy of your IELTS (or equivalent) certificate (if applicable) further information can be found on our Graduate School FAQs
5. Copy of your passport

Email the documentation above) to researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

The deadline for applications is midnight on 27th April 2022

Candidates must be available for interview on 18th May 2022 (at Leeds Beckett University)