Research Newsletter – Issue 108: Spotlight
Innovation in Motion: How Dublin City University Is Advancing Sports Science
November 2025
When it comes to understanding athletic performance and injury prevention, Dublin City University has emerged as a powerhouse of sports research. From the rugby pitch to the weightlifting platform, DCU researchers are generating crucial insights that are reshaping how we approach sport at all levels.
What unites these recent studies is a commitment to rigorous applied research that makes a real difference. Whether it is protecting rugby players from head injuries, optimizing training recovery, understanding the demands of elite coaching, or fine-tuning competition strategy, DCU researchers are at the cutting edge.
Direct head contact in women's rugby
In one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, Dr Ellen Rushe (School of Computing) and collaborators developed a machine learning model to understand direct head contact events in elite women's rugby, analyzing tackle characteristics from the 2022–23 Women's Six Nations Championship. The findings revealed that incorrect tackler head placement, front-on and oblique tackle directions, and multiplayer tackles were key factors associated with head contact events.
What makes this research particularly significant is its focus on women's rugby specifically. Previous research has been almost exclusively based on men's rugby players, but differences exist in performance contexts, concussion injury rates, and mechanisms between men's and women's rugby. This pioneering work provides actionable insights for coaching practice and highlights the importance of gender-specific approaches to injury prevention.
Dr Siobhan O’Connor & Dr Stephen Behan
Injury prevention in women's GAA
Sticking with female sports, Dr Stephen Behan and Dr Siobhan O’Connor (both School of Health & Human Performance) have contributed a ground-breaking video analysis study focused on GAA. The researchers coded all matches from the 2022 season of elite ladies Gaelic football, recording 829 suspected injuries and 162 suspected concussions across 120 matches.
The findings were concerning yet illuminating. Just 13.6% of suspected concussions resulted in removal from play, and the tackle accounted for 40.2% of suspected injuries, with 53.2% of these involving foul play. The research emphasizes the need for developing and implementing injury prevention programs, concussion management strategies, and education for all knowledge users to contribute to a safer playing environment.
Dr Brian Devitt
Return rates after surgery
Elsewhere, Dr Brian Devitt (School of Health and Human Performance) and colleagues examined clinical outcomes of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in Gaelic games players, analyzing data from 1,891 players who underwent surgery between 2014 and 2018. Return to play rates were impressively high at 87.8% for Gaelic football and 89.5% for hurling/camogie, with the majority returning to an equivalent or higher level of performance.
Dr Hannah Goss & Dr Michael Scriney
Standardization in sports analytics
Shifting the focus to the reduced sevens format of rugby, a comprehensive systematic review spanning seven electronic databases from Dr Michael Scriney (School of Computing), Dr Hannah Goss, Dr Anna Donnla O’Hagan (both School of Health & Human Performance) and team identified 220 unique key performance indicators (KPIs). The research revealed significant complexity in how performance is assessed in this fast-paced variant of rugby.
The review highlighted that 56% of studies focused on game or tournament outcomes, while only 33% examined performance itself. Notably, 54% of studies failed to provide operational definitions for their KPIs, underscoring the need for standardization in sports analytics. The researchers advocate for the use of an existing framework to standardize definitions, which would facilitate more consistent and effective approaches to performance analysis.
Dr Asli Devrim Lampir &
Dr Brendan Egan
Discrepancy in sleep efficiency values
Not all DCU research in this category focuses on competition. A novel study from Dr Asli Devrim Lampir, Mr Simon Devenney and Dr Brendan Egan (all from School of Health & Human Performance) examined the agreement between research-grade actigraphy, consumer-grade smartwatches, and self-reported sleep diaries in 70 masters endurance athletes over seven consecutive nights.
The results showed that both consumer-grade devices and sleep diaries reported sleep durations approximately 109 and 126 minutes longer than actigraphy, respectively, with similarly inflated sleep efficiency values. This discrepancy has important implications, as misleading sleep data could cause athletes to believe they are sleep-deprived, potentially heightening anxiety and affecting training decisions. The findings serve as a caution against over-reliance on consumer devices for making training and recovery decisions.
Systems that develop coaches
Beyond athlete performance, DCU researchers from the School of Health & Human Performance are examining the systems that develop coaches. Dr Jamie Taylor, Dr Aine McNamara, Dr Robin Taylor and collaborators conducted a multi-perspective study investigating the transition to high-performance coaching in Irish Rugby through interviews with recruiters, applied cognitive task analysis with coaches, and simulation interviews with aspiring coaches.
The research revealed that recruiters prioritized credibility, breadth and depth of coaching skill, and organizational fit when making employment decisions. High-performance coaches faced significant cognitive demands including managing pressures, building credibility, navigating staff dynamics, and meeting pedagogical and tactical challenges. The study recommends guided cognitive apprenticeships, incorporating modeling, scaffolding, and social capital development to support transitioning coaches.
Dr David Nolan
Predicting successful lift attempts
DCU research has also ventured into the world of strength sports. Using data from 93,333 lifters across 6,979 International Powerlifting Federation competitions, Dr David Nolan, Dr Brendan Egan (both from School of Health & Human Performance) and colleagues developed nonlinear mixed logistic regression models to predict successful lift attempts based on "jump size"—the weight difference between consecutive attempts.
The findings revealed that jump size significantly influenced success rates in ways that varied by lift type, attempt transition, and sex. For male lifters, moderate jump sizes of 5–20 kg improved squat and deadlift success, while female lifters showed optimal success with smaller jumps of 8 kg or less in squats. These findings provide actionable insights for competition strategy, enabling coaches and lifters to optimize attempt selection by balancing risk and reward across attempts.
DCU is leading the way
This selection showcases diverse and advanced methodologies—from machine learning to video analysis to wearable technology—with practical application. These approaches have the potential to shape coaching education, influence law changes, and ultimately contribute to athlete welfare and performance.
As different sports continue to evolve, refine and further professionalize the need for this analysis has never been greater. Dublin City University is leading the way, ensuring that Irish and international sport benefits from world-class research that is both scientifically inquisitive and practically relevant.