ABSTRACT
The day of competition offers the Sports Scientist and Strength and Conditioning coach the final opportunity to ensure athletes are prepared for the upcoming match. In this chapter, the use of appropriately designed warm-ups, heat maintenance strategies, post-activation potentiation, ischemic pre-conditioning, prior exercise, hormonal priming, and nutritional interventions such as caffeine, creatine, and carbohydrate ingestion are examined. Factors modulating the efficacy of such interventions are discussed and practical guidelines relating to the incorporation of such strategies in the match-day practices of professional rugby players are presented.
