Characteristics of winning men’s and women’s sevens rugby teams throughout the knockout Cup stages of international tournaments

Barkell, James F.; O’Connor, Donna; Cotton, Wayne

doi:10.1080/24748668.2016.11868914

Cited by 15 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Teams typically run “backdoor plays” where the offensive player attempts to free up space by initially moving toward their own basket before quickly turning to exploit the vacant space. The aim of these pre-planned patterns of play is to target a specific point on the playing area or an individual to try and provide a platform to open up space for team mates to attack (Barkell et al, 2016). This tactic is observed within wheelchair basketball.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Every “Point” Count: Identifying the Key Determinants of Team Success in Elite Men’s Wheelchair Basketball

2019

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Wheelchair basketball coaches and researchers have typically relied on box score data and the Comprehensive Basketball Grading System to inform practice, however, these data do not acknowledge how the dynamic perspectives of teams change, vary and adapt during possessions in relation to the outcome of a game. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the key dynamic variables associated with team success in elite men’s wheelchair basketball and explore the impact of each key dynamic variable upon the outcome of performance through the use of binary logistic regression modeling. The valid and reliable template developed Francis et al. (2019) was used to analyze video footage in SportsCode from 31 games at the men’s 2015 European Wheelchair Basketball Championships. The 31 games resulted in 6,126 rows of data which were exported and converted into a CSV file, analyzed using R ( R Core Team, 2015 ) and subjected to a data modeling process. Chi-square analyses identified significant ( p < 0.05) relationships between Game Outcome and 19 Categorical Predictor Variables. Automated stepwise binary regression model building was completed using 70% of the data (4,282 possessions) and produced a model that included 12 Categorical Predictor Variables. The accuracy of the developed model was deemed to be acceptable at accurately predicting the remaining 30% of the data (1,844 possessions) and produced an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value of 0.759. The model identified the odds of winning are more than double when the team in possession are in a state of winning at the start of the possession are increased five-fold when the offensive team do not use a 1.0 or 1.5 classified player, but are increased six-fold when the offensive team use three or more 3.0 or 3.5 players. The final model can be used by coaches, players and support staff to devise training and game strategies that involve selecting the most appropriate offensive and defensive approaches when performing ball possessions to enhance the likelihood of winning in elite men’s wheelchair basketball.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Every “Point” Count: Identifying the Key Determinants of Team Success in Elite Men’s Wheelchair Basketball

2019

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“…Training methods should focus on recovery to reduce injuries and fatigue (Higham et al, 2012, 2013; Lopez et al, 2012; Meir, 2012). Due to the short duration of matches, a single error could cost you a match or tournament (Meir, 2012) and players have to use every scoring and attacking opportunity (Barkell et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Demands of International Rugby Sevens and Well-Being Needs of Elite South African Players

Kruyt

Grobbelaar

2019

Front. Psychol.

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Rugby sevens was included in the 2016 Olympic Games, with South Africa’s Blitzboks winning bronze. They also won the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 World Rugby Sevens Series. Whilst peak performance is paramount at the elite level there is a growing responsibility to address player well-being and off-the-field player needs. This study explored the psychological demands of international rugby sevens and the well-being needs of elite players. Twenty professional players (age range: 21–33 years) participated in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis yielded five categories of psychological demands: (1) tournament structure, (2) resilience, (3) cope with physicality, (4) perform when fatigued, and (5) perform under pressure. The prevailing team culture included: (1) team cohesion, (2) clear purpose, (3) work ethic, (4) team values, (5) happy environment, (6) relationships with coaching staff, and (7) faith. Various psychological skills [(1) goal-directed behavior, (2) compartmentalization, (3) deal with anxiety, (4) motivation, (5) imagery, and (6) self-confidence] and mental strategies [(1) coping, (2) “back-to-zero,” (3) creativity, and (4) cognitive triggers] utilized by the players are discussed. Their general well-being and individual needs were: (1) physical needs, (2) financial concerns/needs, (3) preparation for life after rugby career, (4) support structures, and (5) mental (ill) health. This information could be useful to develop an integrated sport psychological and well-being program aimed at improving performance and facilitating psychological well-being both during and after retirement from elite sport.

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“…All rucks were analysed according to the researcher's previous work, where a ruck was defined as any player in possession of the ball being brought to ground by a tackler, and one or more players from either team, who are on their feet, use their body to protect the ball (tackled player) that is on the ground. 19 This definition of a ruck identified only one participant from either team to classify a ruck, as opposed to World Rugby laws which require a player from each team to form a ruck. 20 Rucks were then coded according to the variables in Table 1.…”

Section: Game Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective strategies at the ruck in men’s and women’s World Rugby Sevens Series

Barkell

O’Connor

Cotton

2017

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching

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Despite the growth of research on rugby sevens since its inclusion into the 2016 Olympic Games, some performance aspects of the game remain in their infancy. The ruck is one such area that has had little examination. The aim of this research was to examine the relationships between ruck actions and ruck success. A series of men's (N ¼ 2521) and women's (N ¼ 1474) rucks were coded from a sample of men's (N ¼ 117) and women's games (N ¼ 65) played within the World Rugby Sevens Series in 2014. Both attacking and defensive ruck actions were analysed. Variables included player numbers in the ruck, the actions of the first players to the ruck, ball placement from the tackled player, the body height, weight distribution and position of the attacking player in the ruck. Chi squared analysis identified that one versus one rucks were most commonly formed. If an attacking player arrived first, then there was a greater chance of maintaining possession compared with the first arrival being from the defensive side (p < 0.001). Findings suggest that the squeeze ball placement technique is risky due to its association with turnovers and penalties against the attacking team in men's rugby sevens (p < 0.001). The body position of the first arriving attacking player requires the attacking player to lower their shoulders below the opposition shoulders (p < 0.001), use the tackled player to support their weight (p < 0.001) and aim to ruck to a position past the ball rather than stopping with their bodies over the ball (p < 0.001). Analysis of opposition actions identified that an early jackal was most successful at producing turnovers (p < 0.001). Results illustrate successful ruck strategies in rugby sevens from both an attacking and a defensive viewpoint. Successful ruck actions are similar in both men's and women's rugby sevens.

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Characteristics of winning men’s and women’s sevens rugby teams throughout the knockout Cup stages of international tournaments

Cited by 15 publications

References 1 publication

Making Every “Point” Count: Identifying the Key Determinants of Team Success in Elite Men’s Wheelchair Basketball

Making Every “Point” Count: Identifying the Key Determinants of Team Success in Elite Men’s Wheelchair Basketball

Psychological Demands of International Rugby Sevens and Well-Being Needs of Elite South African Players

Effective strategies at the ruck in men’s and women’s World Rugby Sevens Series

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