ABSTRACT
Rugby Union football is a physical contact game which places considerable emphasis on absolute size, strength, speed and power. Since the effects of exercise, training, and performance on bone mineral density (BMD) are thought to be site-specific, and not generalised throughout the skeleton, differences between athletes in different sports, or differences between athletes involved in the same sport, are likely to be observed only at specific anatomical locations (Beck and Marcus, 1999). The effects of physical activity on bone remodelling, therefore, will depend to some extent on the nature of the activity and the application of the principles and practice of training programmes.
