Sign up to FREE email alerts from Mirror - Rugby Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A study has revealed the “savage” physical workload placed on Super League players - which is even greater than Australia’s NRL.

The findings from the Australian Catholic University state that a Super League forward can endure 15 hit-ups or tackles and cover up to 500 metres in the space of a single five-minute period.

They experience those brutal bursts more on average than their NRL counterparts, in a first study to quantify the sport’s physical toll on its leading players.

A typical forward’s workload sees two collisions every minute, but it can be as high as three during the most intense periods of matches.

Sports scientist Dr Rich Johnston explained: “Imagine having to get off the deck and run hard, in between tackling Sam Burgess, Luke Thompson and John Bateman.

(Image: Getty Images AsiaPac)

“At the same time, you’ve got to execute match-specific skills and make high stakes, complex decisions.

“The energy cost on players can be savage.”

Although backs are involved in fewer collisions, there are also points in rugby league games when they must perform three or more collisions in a minute.

The research team, led by Johnston from ACU’s School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, used player worn-microtechnology devices, to record and analyse the movement of NRL and Super League players.

They assessed the demands of the game in one-to-five-minute periods to capture the highest bursts of intensity.

(Image: Matt West/BPI/REX/Shutterstock)

Johnston believes the findings - which will be published in the Journal of Sports Sciences - could change how leading clubs train and recruit their players.

He added: “We feel that, in training, if you expose your players to the most intense movement and contact activities of competition, particularly during skills drills, it is likely to better prepare them for games.

“Now we have this information at hand.

“When assessing young players for professional contracts, yes, we know physical capacities are important.

“But it is also vital to identify those who can withstand frequent hits, maintain their running output, and importantly, execute the required skills and make the right decisions when the game gets tough.”