Effects of scoring system manipulation on tactical, conditional, and emotional responses in rugby union academy players

Background: rugby union coaches design small-sided games (SSGs) by altering task conditions to guide players toward the desired objectives. Placing greater value on scoring a try in the centre of the in-goal area may encourage players to play more centrally. Objective: to compare the tactical and conditional responses, along with perceptions of enjoyment and competence, of rugby union academy players during regular (SSGREG) and conditioned (SSGCOND) SSGs. Methods: Sixteen U18 male rugby union players competed in two 4 × 5 min eight-a-side games (219 m2 per player) with (SSGCOND) and without (SSGREG) triple point value in the central part of the in-goal area. Players' tactical (central tendency and approximate entropy measures of surface area, length, width, dyads, and stretch and spatial exploration indices) and conditional (total distance travelled and distances at different speed zones) responses were assessed using GPS data. Players also rated their enjoyment and perceived competence for each SSG. Results: young rugby union players significantly (p < .05) occupied less space (surface area: r = .13; length: r = .05; width: r = .24), played closer together (dyads: r = .16; stretch index: r = .14) and explored less (r = .63) in the SSGCOND than in the SSGREG, with no differences in entropy measures (p > .05) across task conditions. They also ran significantly (p < .001) more overall (d = 1.21) and at low-to-medium speed (d = 0.85) but not at higher speeds (p > .05) in the conditioned scenario than in the regular one. Players' perceptions of enjoyment and competence did not differ (p > .05) across SSGs. Conclusions: manipulating the scoring system in rugby union SSGs encouraged players to play more compactly and run more, with no changes in distances travelled at highest speeds nor in perceptions of enjoyment and competence. Thus, academy coaches can benefit from the tactical impact of this manipulation without exceeding habitual high-speed running demands or impairing players' subjective experience.