The first research of 2025 signed by the Mapei Sport Research Center is titled Interchangeability of the Polar Team Pro system in determining match load and intensities in semi professional rugby union players and was published a few days ago by the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport.
Operations director and head of the Human Performance Lab at the Italian center Ermanno Rampinini investigated the interchangeability of the Polar Team Pro system in determining match load and intensities in semi-professional rugby union players together with colleagues Jacobus J. Oosthuizen, Martinique Sparks, Christo A. Bisschoff, Marike Cockeran from North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, the University of Southern Queensland, and the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.

An international project that compared data collected with the Polar GPS system and the 10-Hz Catapult system in 30 rugby players engaged in the first division Currie Cup. Using two different tracking systems for six matches, player movement variables were analyzed, including total distance, low, high and very high speed running, acceleration and deceleration efforts, and maximum speed achieved during each half.

Although good correlations were found between the two systems for most of the variables considered in the study, there remain some specific differences related to the two manufacturers (e.g., software and data filtering) that make the two systems not completely interchangeable with each other.

For detailed results of the study we refer you to the publication available at www.mapeisport.it/en/scientific-activities.