Sanctioning of breakdown infringements during the knockout stage of the 2019 rugby world cup

Abstract

The breakdown is a complex and dynamic facet of rugby union, often containing multiple players from each team. It is the responsibility of coaches and trainers to ensure players are prepared to comply with the World Rugby laws of the game to encourage safe and fair play between all participants. The aim of this study was to investigate player adherence and sanctioning of infringements at the breakdown during the knockout stages of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Breakdown infringements according to World Rugby laws were identified using match video recordings of the 8 matches. Each breakdown was individually analysed by coding any infringement that had occurred and the sanctioning outcome of the breakdown. A total of 898 breakdowns were coded, of which 37.7% (n = 339) were deemed to involve illegal play. 79.9% of breakdowns involving illegal play were not penalised with the majority of infringements being “ head and shoulders below hips” (33.5%, n = 163), “ off feet” (13%, n = 63) and “ offside” (10.5%, n = 51). The attacking team were responsible for 70.0% (n = 340) of all breakdown infringements despite being penalised less than the defending team. A high number of infringements occurred at the breakdown and went unsanctioned in the knockout stages of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Future work focused on technology, training or rule amendments may be required to improve player adherence and sanctioning of infringements at the breakdown, such that they protect players and are in keeping with the dynamics of the modern game.

Legal and illegal ruck cleanouts in South African non-professional youth rugby

“…However, this pattern was not evident during the 2019 Rugby World Cup. 15 In this study "head and shoulders below hips" was the infringement that occurred most.…”

“…Mitchell and Tierney 15 . Kraak et al 7 demonstrated that attacking teams accounted for 90% (1 895 of 2 111) of all illegal ruck cleanouts, at an average of 16 per match.…”

Network Centrality and Core-periphery Analysis to Clarify the Tactics for Try in Rugby World Cup 2019

“…Another feature of try in the last 20 minutes was that there have many tries by switching from defense to attack. Tackle study includes the issue of preventive medicine and refereeing concerned dangerous play [37][38][39]. There has detailed study which the tackle height by defense would relate to off-load success and clean break by attack [40].…”

An assessment of the World Rugby law application guidelines for the breakdown on sanctioning and player adherence

“…14 Nazarudin et al 15 believes refereeing a professional rugby match is a substantial challenge. A breakdown may occur up to 200 times in a single match, 8 where the referee must interpret and apply the laws of the game instantaneously. A single misjudgement could affect the outcome of the match.…”

“…7 A ruck is formed when one or more players from opposing teams are in contact, on their feet, and competing over the ball which is on the ground, in order to retain (attacking team) or regain (defending team) possession. 8 A 2018 study analysed 7393 physical interaction events in the Championship and Six Nations competitions and determined that 65% of collisions resulted in a ruck. 9 The importance of retaining possession at a breakdown and turning the ball over has been found to be a key performance indicator associated with team success.…”