Out of your zone? 21 years of travel and performance in Super Rugby

ABSTRACT

The extent to which travel has affected Super Rugby teams’ performances was analysed using outcomes of all matches played from the beginning of the competition in 1996 to the end of the 2016 season. Points difference and matches won or lost were predicted with general and generalized mixed linear models. The predictors were the linear effects of number of time zones crossed and travel duration based on the teams’ locations for each match and their locations in the previous week. The away-match disadvantage was also estimated, along with trends in all these effects. In 1996 the predicted combined effect of eastward travel across 12 time zones was a reduction of 5.8 points scored per match, resulting in 4.1 more matches lost every 10 matches. Corresponding effects for westward travel were 6.4 points and 3.1 matches. In 2016 effects travelling eastward were 3.7 points and 2.3 matches, whereas travelling westward the effects were 3.7 points and 1.5 matches. These travel effects were due mainly to the away-match disadvantage: 5.7 points and 3.2 matches in 1996; 5.2 points and 2.3 matches in 2016. Teams in Super Rugby are dealing successfully with long-haul travel and should now focus on reducing the away-match disadvantage.     

Changes in player characteristics and match activities in Bledisloe Cup rugby union from 1972 to 2004

Abstract

To illustrate changes in elite rugby union match activities, we analysed coded videotape recordings of the first match in each Bledisloe Cup series played between Australia and New Zealand from 1972 to 2004. We also analysed the stature and body mass of players. Effects associated with professionalism, weather conditions, and time (expressed as change per decade) were estimated with a simple generalized linear model and standardized for interpretation of magnitude. The sample size permitted confident conclusions about effects that were of at least moderate magnitude (standardized mean difference >0.6). Increases in passes, tackles, rucks, tries, and ball-in-play time were associated with the advent of professionalism, whereas there were reductions in the numbers of lineouts, mauls, kicks in play, and in mean participation time per player. Noteworthy time trends were an increase in the number of rucks and a decrease in the number of scrums. Good weather conditions were associated with increases in tries and points scored and with reductions in the number of kicks in play and participation time per player. With the advent of professionalism, players have become heavier and backs have become taller. Overall, there have been major changes in international rugby match activities and player size over the past three decades. We believe law changes and developments in match analysis, equipment technology, and player training have contributed to the changes associated with the introduction of professionalism.     

Improving ‘at-action’ decision-making in team sports through a holistic coaching approach

This article draws on Game Sense pedagogy and complex learning theory (CLT) to make suggestions for improving decision-making ability in team sports by adopting a holistic approach to coaching with a focus on decision-making ‘at-action’. It emphasizes the complexity of decision-making and the need to focus on the game as a whole entity, where players, individually and collectively, attempt to manage disorder in the face of an opposition. It rejects the complicated, mechanistic approach to learning and cognitivist views that dominate the literature on decision-making in team sports that see it as being a linear process of conscious thinking limited to the individual mind. It offers an alternative, holistic view grounded in a practical example of how this might be achieved in coaching rugby union football and theorized within a CLT framework.     

Characteristics of an ‘effective’ tackle outcome in Six Nations rugby

Abstract

Rugby is a full contact sport that frequently comprises of tackle situations between two or more players. At present there is no research available that has quantified the defining elements that lead to ‘effective’ tackle outcomes in matches or whether they factor in the success or failure of teams. The purpose of this study was to understand the actions of the tackler during contact with the ball-carrier and relate them to the ‘effectiveness’ of the tackle outcome, during rugby match play. Matches (n=15) from the 2007 Six Nations Tournament were analysed. ‘Effective’ tackling was assessed with regards to the territorial change of the ball-carrier from the point of contact with the tackler to completion of the tackle, and characterised in terms of the tackler's body position, the angle at which the tackler approached the tackle and the outcome. The ‘less effective’ tackle is 34% more prevalent (P<0.001) than the ‘effective’ tackle during match play. Winning teams were involved in fewer tackle situations and made 3% more ‘effective’ tackles and 4% fewer ‘less effective’ tackles than losing teams. ‘Effective’ tackle outcomes were found to have a greater percentage of the player's torso leaning forward and oblique angle approaches to the ball-carrier. The difference in the frequency of upright and back foot characteristics differentiated winning from losing teams. This was the first study to describe the characteristics of an ‘effective’ tackle outcome and serves as a basis from which further research can be done on the tackle situation.     

Effective attacking strategies in rugby union

Abstract

Evasive change-of-direction manoeuvres (agility skills) are a fundamental ability in rugby union. In this study, we explored the attributes of agility skill execution as they relate to effective attacking strategies in rugby union. Seven Super 14 games were coded using variables that assessed team patterns and individual movement characteristics during attacking ball carries. The results indicated that tackle-breaks are a key determinant of try-scoring ability and team success in rugby union. The ability of the attacking ball carrier to receive the ball at high speed with at least two body lengths from the defence line against an isolated defender promoted tackle-breaks. Furthermore, the execution of a side-step evasive manoeuvre at a change of direction angle of 20–60° and a distance of one to two body lengths from the defence, and then straightening the running line following the initial direction change at an angle of 20–60°, was associated with tackle-breaks. This study provides critical insight regarding the attributes of agility skill execution that are associated with effective ball carries in rugby union.     

A War Without Weapons: Rugby,Korean Resistance,and Japanese Colonialism, 1910–1945

The Japanese colonial period was a critical time in the introduction and development of modern sport in Korea. A range of modern sports was introduced to colonial Korea by Western missionaries and the Japanese. The political circumstance of usurpation caused sport to develop by Koreans linking it with a nationalist movement. Rugby, one of the sports introduced during this era, was a crucial vehicle in Koreans expressing their national superiority and confidence. Koreans engaged in a ‘war without weapons’ against Japan at the extraterritorial site of the sport arena and expressed their will of independence and autonomy through dynamic movements of the body on the rugby field.     

Coaching whiteness: stories of ‘Pacifica exotica’ in Australian high school rugby

The intersection of sport and education is a potentially powerful site for the production of class and gender. This paper examines how the relationship between sport and education can also serve to (re)produce ideas about ‘race’. Drawing on research conducted during my time as a coach of the first XV rugby team at an elite private school in Australia, I consider how whiteness creates the ‘other’. In particular I highlight how, despite their absence, the Pacific Island ‘other’ is (re)produced through stories that coaches share during training. These stories revolve around the themes of the ‘natural’, fear and violence and commodity. As themes they resonate with a larger meta-narrative that informs dominant ‘white’ culture on Pacific Islanders in Australia. Such stories have the power to shape students’ subjectivities, both of themselves and Pacific Islanders. Deconstructing the white-stream narrative identifies sport settings in education as important pedagogical sites where ‘race’, class and gender are learned. As such, there is a need to utilise critical pedagogical approaches in the education of sports coaches.     

League Bilong Laif: rugby,education and sport-for-development partnerships in Papua New Guinea

League Bilong Laif (LBL) is a sport-for-development (SFD) programme that was established in 2013 as a three-way partnership between the Australian Government, the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government (Department of Education) and the Australian Rugby League Commission (National Rugby League). As a contribution to addressing low rates of school attendance and significant problems with anti-social behaviour within PNG communities, LBL was designed to contribute to (1) improvements in student engagement with education in and out of the classroom; and (2) communication of positive social messages, with a focus on respect generally, and gender equity in particular. This paper discusses the qualitative review of the pilot phase of the LBL project, and the implications for programme design and delivery for education outcomes through a SFD programme. Data were collected through a combination of 23 interviews and focus groups with 33 individual representatives from relevant organisations and government departments in the areas of sport, education and community development. Preliminary findings indicate that despite a challenging beginning, the LBL programme has made some progress in terms of the initial development of programme aims and stakeholder engagement, largely because of the rigorous design process that kept desired programme outcomes at the forefront.     

Rhodesia,Rugby and the Afrikaner: ‘Working Together to Send this Country Ahead’

Abstract

Rugby played an influential role in assisting South Africa’s Afrikaners to migrate to the British colonies of Southern and Northern Rhodesia while maintaining strong transnational ties with their country of origin. The focus of this investigation is on the period immediately after the Second World War although it is necessary to locate events within wider social and political developments that shaped societies in the two Central African colonies. For the first half of the twentieth century the Southern Rhodesian government in particular pursued a policy of deliberately limiting the immigration of the Afrikaner, a white population group of Dutch, French or German descent. The British feared the growing strength of Afrikaner nationalism whilst the majority of Rhodesians did not wish to be absorbed by their powerful neighbour. There was nevertheless a shared passion for rugby which was clearly apparent in Rhodesia’s long-established affiliation to the South African parent body. This meant that Rhodesia not only played as a province of South Africa but the highest ambition of their players was to achieve Springbok selection. The linkages were welcomed on both sides with Afrikaans-speaking players strengthening Rhodesian rugby teams in the course of seeking their fortunes in the tobacco and copper industries.     

Measured and perceived indices of fluid balance in professional athletes. The use and impact of hydration assessment strategies

Background: To determine athletes perceived and measured indices of fluid balance during training and the influence of hydration strategy use on these parameters. Methods: Thirty-three professional rugby union players completed a 120 minute training session in hot conditions (35°C, 40% relative humidity). Pre-training hydration status, sweat loss, fluid intake and changes in body mass (BM) were obtained. The use of hydration assessment techniques and players perceptions of fluid intake and sweat loss were obtained via a questionnaire. Results: The majority of players (78%) used urine colour to determine pre-training hydration status but the use of hydration assessment techniques did not influence pre-training hydration status (1.025?±?0.005 vs. 1.023?±?0.013?g^.ml^?1, P?=?.811). Players underestimated sweat loss (73?±?17%) to a greater extent than fluid intake (37?±?28%) which resulted in players perceiving they were in positive fluid balance (0.5?±?0.8% BM) rather than the measured negative fluid balance (?1.0?±?0.7% BM). Forty-eight percent of players used hydration monitoring strategies during exercise but no player used changes in BM to help guide fluid replacement. Conclusion: Players have difficulty perceiving fluid intake and sweat loss during training. However, the use of hydration monitoring techniques did not affect fluid balance before or during training.