Rugby Union: Fully Funded PhD Studentship in Rugby Union Sports Science with Swansea University and Scarlets Rugby Club

Keeping players available for selection and ready to perform at a high level is a key challenge in elite sport. Indeed, professional rugby is an intense, collision-heavy sport that places severe demands on players, who are regularly exposed to pronounced exercise-induced muscle damage and soreness, which are present for several days after a match and persist throughout an entire competitive season. This can impair performance and result in injury or illness. Therefore, identification of optimal recovery strategies to alleviate post-exercise muscle damage and soreness is crucial.  

Post-exercise nutrition and sleep practices are key components in an optimal recovery strategy. For example, several dietary supplements are purported to reduce post-exercise muscle soreness and enhance sleep. However, the evidence to support these supplements is often based on small and poor-quality studies that have not been conducted in elite athletes with appropriate dietary controls that reflect applied practice.  

Recognising a need to bridge this gap, and better understand how to utilise resources to optimise their current recovery practices, Scarlets Rugby seeks to collaborate on a series of cutting cutting-edge research studies, focusing on dietary and sleep strategies to promote recovery and improve performance in elite Rugby players.  

Funding Details 

Annual stipend currently £19,237 for 2024/25

Funding Comment

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £19,237 for 2024/25).

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.

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