Evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation could reduce muscle soreness and maintain muscle function following eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage. The aim of this applied field study was to investigate the effectiveness of consuming a protein-based supplement containing 1546 mg of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (551 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 551 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) twice daily (FO) compared to a protein-based placebo (P) on muscle soreness, countermovement jump (CMJ) performance and psychological well-being in 20 professional Rugby Union players during 5 weeks of pre-season training. Players completed a 5-point-Likert soreness scale with 5 indicating "no soreness" and a questionnaire assessing fatigue, sleep, stress and mood each morning of training, plus they performed CMJ tests once or twice per week. Data were analysed using magnitude-based inferential statistics and are presented as percent beneficial/trivial/harmful. On day 35, there was a likely (% beneficial/trivial/harmful: 94/5/1) moderate (0.75, standardized mean difference (SMD)) beneficial effect of FO vs. P on the change in lower body muscle soreness compared with day 0 (FO: -3.8 ± 21.7%; P: -19.4 ± 11.2%). There was a likely (92/7/0) moderate (SMD: 0.60) beneficial effect of FO vs. P on CMJ performance (change from baseline to day 35, FO: +4.6 ± 5.9%; P: -3.4 ± 8.6%). From day 20, a moderate beneficial effect of FO on fatigue was observed. In terms of practical relevance, the moderate beneficial effect of adding fish oil to a protein-based supplement on muscle soreness translated into the better maintenance of explosive power in elite Rugby Union players during pre-season training.

To date, there has been a paucity of research on optimal ways to educate and promote dietary behavioural change within athletes. Optimising athlete nutrition is fundamental to reaching peak performance and maintaining athlete wellbeing. MealLogger® is a smartphone application that incorporates the use of an image-based food record and social-media functionality to provide in-application personalised feedback to individuals or groups, peer-support, and a platform to deliver nutrition education material. This study measured the feasibility of MealLogger® within New Zealand elite male field hockey players (n = 17) aged 18–20 to increase athlete knowledge and nutrition promoting behaviours. During a six-week intervention, participants were instructed to log images of their meals three days per week and they received individualised dietetic feedback on logged meals. Weekly nutrition-education fact-sheets and videos were delivered through the application. Nutrition knowledge increased moderately from baseline (%Pre 54.7 ± 14.3; %Post 61.1 ± 11.45, p = 0.01). Participants report a highly positive experience of application use (8/10) with 82.3% attempting to make positive changes in dietary behaviours based on in-app education. All participants preferred this method to traditional methods of dietary analysis. Using image-based applications such as MealLogger® is an effective approach to monitor dietary intake and deliver education to optimise the nutritional behaviours of elite athletes.

The purpose of this study was to compare fluid balance between a resistance and an aerobic training sessions, in elite rugby players. It is hypothesized that resistance exercise will result in a higher prevalence of overdrinking, whereas during the aerobic session, underdrinking will be more prevalent. As with previous fluid balance studies, this was an observational study. Twenty-six players completed the resistance training session, and 20 players completed the aerobic training session. All players were members of an elite rugby union squad competing in the southern hemisphere's premier competition. For both sessions, players provided a preexercise urine sample to determine hydration status, pre- and postexercise measures of body mass, and blood sodium concentration were taken, and the weight of drink bottles were recorded to calculate sweat rates and fluid intake rates. Sweat patches were positioned on the shoulder of the players, and these remained in place throughout each training session and were later analyzed for sodium concentration. The percentage of sweat loss replaced was higher in the resistance (196 ± 130%) than the aerobic training session (56 ± 17%; p = 0.002). Despite this, no cases of hyponatremia were detected. The results also indicated that more than 80% of players started training in a hypohydrated state. Fluid intake seems to differ depending on the nature of the exercise session. In this group of athletes, players did not match their fluid intakes with their sweat loss, resulting in overdrinking during resistance training and underdrinking in aerobic training. Therefore, hydration strategies and education need to be tailored to the exercise session. Furthermore, given the large number of players arriving at training hypohydrated, improved hydration strategies away from the training venue are required.

Rugby is a worldwide intermittent team sport. Players tend to be heavier than the majority of similar team sport athletes on whom the dietary guidelines have been developed. Therefore, the aim of the current review was to describe the intakes of rugby union players. Article databases were searched up to February 2017 and were included if they were published in English and reported dietary intakes of male rugby union players. Of the research articles identified, energy intakes were lower than two of three studies that reported intakes and expenditure, which would suggest the players were losing weight that is somewhat supported by the decreases in skinfolds seen during preseason. However, it should also be noted that there are errors in both the measurement of energy intakes and expenditure. Carbohydrate intakes ranged from 2.6 to 6.5 g·kg·day, which is lower than the current relative to body mass recommendations; however, this would not be classed as a low-carbohydrate diet. The consistently low intakes of carbohydrate suggest that these intake levels maybe sufficient for performance, given the players greater body mass or there are errors in the measurements. However, there is currently no evidence for the carbohydrate needs of rugby union players in terms of performance. The lower intakes than expenditure would suggest the players were losing weight. Previous research shows that rugby union players lose body fat during preseason training.

The results from this study demonstrate that CWI may provide some beneficial effect by reducing fatigue and soreness during an intense three week training phase in elite rugby athletes.