Touch Rugby,Masculinity and Progressive Politics in Durban,South Africa, 1985–1990

Rugby is a sport frequently considered to be highly competitive and even violent. In the history of South Africa under apartheid it was a bulwark of white minority, authoritarian, nationalist rule. So was it possible for an alternative masculinity to develop and express itself on the country’s rugby playing field? This paper seeks to answer this question by examining an informal weekly game of touch rugby played in the five years prior to the unbanning of the liberation movements in 1990. The game was played largely by white men who were explicitly opposed to the system of apartheid and in most cases were actively working for its termination. What implications did their commitment to a non-racial democracy have for their participation in the game and particularly for their gendered relations? This paper argues that there was an alignment between their politics and their gendered behaviour but that such alignment was not exact and even though alternative masculinities were nascent, equally were expressed conventional passions for the game. But these passions were not violent or misogynistic even as they endorsed the male body as a site of physical sporting pleasure.     

七人制橄榄球运动及其技战术演变的历史沿革

采用文献资料法 ,以收集到的资料为基础 ,运用逻辑推理的方法 ,介绍“七人制”橄榄球运动的起源与发展 ,重点对“七人制”橄榄球运动的基本技、战术特征、发展时期和今后的技战术发展趋势作了比较详细的分析和说明     

我国橄榄球市场化发展对策研究

我国橄榄球市场具有广阔的市场化发展前景,但目前的发展现状不容乐观,存在管理体制薄弱、效益不佳、定位不准确、媒体宣传不够、市场的亲和程度较低、无形资产开发利用不够等问题,针对问题提出我国橄榄球市场化发展的几点对策和建议.     

A new approach to quantifying physical demand in rugby union

Abstract

The objective of the study was to describe an original approach to assessing individual workload during international rugby union competitions. The difference between positional groups and between the two halves was explored. Sixty-seven files from 30 French international rugby union players were assessed on a computerised player-tracking system (Amisco Pro^®, Sport Universal Process, Nice, France) during five international games. Each player’s action was split up into exercise and recovery periods according to his individual velocity threshold. Exercise-to-recovery (E:R) period ratios and acceleration were calculated. Results indicated that about 65% of exercise periods lasted less than 4 s; half of the E:Rs were less than 1:4, and about one-third ranged between 1 and 1:4 and about 40% of exercise periods were classified as medium intensity. Most acceleration values were less than 3 m·s^?2 and started from standing or walking activity. Back row players showed the highest mean acceleration values over the game (P < 0.05). No significant decrease in physical performance was seen between the first and second halves of the games except for back rows, who showed a significant decrease in mean acceleration (P < 0.05). The analysis of results emphasised the specific activity of back rows and tended to suggest that the players’ combinations of action and recovery times were optimal for preventing large decrease in the physical performance.     

Ethnic Persistence: Towards Understanding the Lived Experiences of Pacific Island Athletes in the National Rugby League

The emergence of Pacific Island (PI) ethnicities in the National Rugby League (NRL) over the past 18 years is widely acknowledged. At present, participants who have PI or Maori heritage represent 38% of the NRL's senior roster plus 37% at the National Youth Competition (NYC) level. This paper will examine the complex personal and ethnic biographies, and the process through which these athletes create their identities as a minority group within the culture of professional rugby league. In particular, the theoretical concept of ethnic persistence provides a way to understand the identity formation of PI athletes currently in the NRL. Rather than being assimilated into Western culture, the cultural discourses that are inextricably linked to ethnic PI identities are crucial to understanding the experiences of footballers in the NRL. The experiences of the footballers, characterised by a lack of understanding and acknowledgement of PI traditions, suggest that national identities, rivalries and conflict that have shaped the history of these island nations are overridden in favour of common traits, experiences and heritage.     

Technical determinants of tackle and ruck performance in International rugby union

The most frequently occurring contact events in rugby union are the tackle and ruck. The ability repeatedly to engage and win the tackle and ruck has been associated with team success. To win the tackle and ruck, players have to perform specific techniques. These techniques have not been studied at the highest level of rugby union. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify technical determinants of tackle and ruck performance at the highest level of rugby union. A total of 4479 tackle and 2914 ruck events were coded for the Six Nations and Championship competitions. Relative risk ratio (RR), the ratio of the probability of an outcome occurring when a characteristic was observed (versus the non-observed characteristic), was determined using multinomial logistic regression. Executing front-on tackles reduced the likelihood of offloads and tackle breaks in both competitions (Six Nations RR 3.0 Behind tackle, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.9–4.6, effect size [ES] = large, P < 0.001); Championship RR 2.9 Jersey tackle, 95% CI: 1.3–6.4, ES = moderate, P = 0.01). Fending during contact increased the chances of offloading and breaking the tackle in both competitions (Six Nations RR 4.5 Strong, 95% CI: 2.2–9.2, ES = large, P = P < 0.001; Championship RR 5.1 Moderate, 95% CI: 3.5–7.4, ES = large, P < 0.001). For the ruck, actively placing the ball increased the probability of maintaining possession (Six Nations RR 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1–4.3, ES = moderate, P = 0.03); Championship RR 4.0, 95% CI: 1.3–11.8, ES = large, P = 0.01). The techniques identified in this study should be incorporated and emphasised during training to prepare players for competition. Furthermore, these techniques need to be added to coaching manuals for the tackle and ruck.     

Collective effectiveness in the XV de France: selections and time matter

The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of selections and shared selections in the rugby union. Players’ names, positions, and number of selections were collected for all XV de France’s games (1906–2014). Every team’s percentage of renewal of workforce was calculated for backs and forwards. During the 1987–2014 period, all second row forwards (locks), halfbacks, and centres’ shared selections (number of times when two players have competed together) were recreated. The Best vs. Rest method was applied to these remodelled dyads. They were analysed and compared with surrounding teammates as well as opponents. Head coaches similarly change their workforce for upcoming matches after winning or losing (around 30%), but losing teams renew significantly more positions in their line-ups. The recreated halfbacks, locks, and centres reveal a common pattern. Whether victorious or not, the ‘renewed couples’ victory percentage will congregate towards the XV de France’s victory percentage. For all the best recreated couples, the cumulated number of selections for forwards’ is always higher than the ones part of less efficient teams: 231.3?±?80 vs. 212.9?±?91 selections for locks’ teammates (Effect sizes (ES) small, possibly positive, 54.8%). In best recreated couples, number 8’s are significantly more experienced than their counterparts in less efficient pairs (ES small, likely positive, 76.3%). The XV de France’s collective effectiveness relies on a balance between stability and workforce renewal, which allows the building of specific position interactions and builds on experimented forwards packs. Selections and shared selections are serious collective performance parameters associated with performance.     

An examination of the jump-and-lift factors influencing the time to reach peak catch height during a Rugby Union lineout

The goal of an offensive Rugby Union lineout is to throw the ball in a manner that allows your team to maintain possession. Typically, the player catching the ball jumps and is lifted upwards by two teammates, reaching above the opposing player who is competing for the ball also. Despite various beliefs regarding the importance of the jumper’s mass and attempted jump height, and lifters’ magnitude and point of force application, there is negligible published data on the topic. The squeeze technique is one lifting method commonly employed by New Zealand teams during lineout plays, whereby the jumper initiates the jump quickly and the lifters provide assistance only once the jumper reaches 20–30 cm. While this strategy may reduce cues to the opposition, it might also constrain the jumper and lifters. We developed a model to explore how changes in the jumper’s body mass and attempted jump height, and lifters’ magnitude and point of force application influence the time to reach peak catch height. The magnitude of the lift force impacted the time-to-reach peak catch height the most; followed by the jumper’s (attempted) jump height and body mass; and lastly, the point of lift force application.     

The Power Game: Continued Reflections on the Early Development of Modern Football

In this paper the authors seek to continue the debate on the development of modern football. They note the support offered by Tony Collins to the long-standing reservations of Graham Curry and Eric Dunning regarding the weaknesses of the revisionist case, which has sought to lessen the influence of public schoolboys on the game’s early years. The authors do, however, offer some correctives to Collins’s thoughts, particularly in terms of the complex Sheffield footballing subculture. Curry and Dunning support the need for more research based on local studies and attempt to gather together current thinking in this area.