Rugby Science Update 16
By Lara Paul
The purpose of this study is to investigate stakeholders’ perceptions and beliefs regarding a lowered maximum legal tackle height law trial aimed at reducing concussion incidence in community rugby union. Six coaches, six players, and six referees participated in individual semi-structured interviews. The interviews focused on the effectiveness and value of a lowered maximum legal tackle height in improving player welfare and investigating the factors influencing the successful implementation of the law variation. After completing the interviews, a thematic analysis was conducted, and themes were derived from the data. Contextual themes identified included poor concussion knowledge, lack of education, poor tackle technique, and a culture that undermines player welfare. There were mixed views from the stakeholders on the effectiveness of the law trial; however, they did believe it could have a positive impact on player welfare. Buy-in from the coaches was a challenge, and there were difficulties surrounding the adherence to the law variation. Attitudes towards injuries, the difficulty refereeing the tackle height and resource constraints were some of the negative influences on the tackle height law variation. Spending time on coaching safe tackle techniques positively influenced players’ beliefs and attitudes towards of injury prevention. Some participants felt the law variation was still more effective than the existing law. Additionally, participants felt that that it raised awareness around concussion. Overall, the authors noted the complexity of implementing an injury prevention strategy for concussions.
This study is published in the International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching.
This aim of this study is to compare the speed and acceleration of the ball-carrier and tackler during the pre-contact phase (contact − 0.5s) of front-on tackles using video analysis and microtechnology data. Additionally, the study seeks to investigate the effect of the interaction of ball-carrier and tackler positions during Super League match play. The analysis involved examining video footage and microtechnology data from 214 front-on tackles in Super League matches. The findings indicate that the ball carrier’s speed was faster than the tackler’s speed going into contact (4.73 ± 1.12 m∙s−1 vs 2.82 ± 1.07 m∙s−1), occurring in 88% of the tackles. Moreover, it was observed that the tackler tended to decelerate going into contact while the ball carrier accelerated into contact. Furthermore, when assessing positional interactions, it was found that the ball carrier speed into the tackle was higher when the ball was carried by a back compared to a forward. The study provides valuable insights for sport practitioners and stakeholders in rugby league, offering a detail understanding of the tackle event in rugby league. Such information can aid in adequately preparing players for the demands of match-play and can be instrumental in decision-making regarding laws related to tackling.
This study is published in Journal of Sports Science.
The aim of this study is to conduct a Social Network Analysis of stakeholders involved in rugby union research. A systematic literature search was conducted on three online databases. Organisations were identified using author affiliations listed on scientific publications. All papers were included if they contributed to rugby union research. Collaboration was detected if there was a co-author on the publication. Country and sector were determined from the organisations of the authors. From there, a collaboration network was generated from co-authorship matrices and computed network metrics. This identified influential organisations and measured the extent of the collaboration between sectors. Six sectors were identified based on the author affiliations: universities, healthcare, industry, science and support, sport’s governing bodies and professional sports teams. The study found that scientific output and collaboration have increased over time from 1977 to 2022 in rugby union. This increase is likely due to the sport’s high injury risk, with stakeholders having an interest in preventing injuries and improving performance. Understandably, the greatest number of publications are produced by tier 1 rugby-playing nation, including England, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa. Influential universities between 2016 and 2022 include the Australian Catholic University, Leeds Beckett University, Stellenbosch University, Swansea University, University College London, and the University of Cape Town. Governing bodies within rugby union are highly collaborative, and universities are key players contributing to knowledge development. The results from this study emphasize the opportunity for collaboration, as the organisations creating knowledge in rugby union have been identified.
This study is published in the BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.
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