This article explores the processes associated with the emergence of rugby and soccer as distinct ‘sporting codes’ in South Africa. Beginning with an elaboration of the concept of ‘sporting code’, the author traces in broad brush the events that transformed the two English codes into new forms of cultural capital in transnational sporting fields. Set against this wider context, the focus then s...

BACKGROUND The majority of Rugby Union (rugby) players participate at the amateur level. Knowledge of player characteristics and injury risks is predominantly ascertained from studies on professional or junior athletes in rugby. The objectives of the current study are to: (1) describe the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and physical characteristics of a cohort of amateur rugby players; (...

BACKGROUND Rugby union has a high rate of injury. The increased use of protective equipment may help mitigate these injuries. This study investigated the injury prevention effectiveness of the protective equipment used in rugby union. METHODS A cohort of 304 rugby players in Dunedin, New Zealand was followed weekly during the 1993 club season to assess protective equipment use, participation ...

At present, little is known about elite schoolboy rugby players in South Africa and internationally. To obtain the profile of elite schoolboy rugby players, young players must be tested and monitored to compile norms for them. The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of the elite U 16 and U 18 schoolboy rugby players in South Africa with reference to anthropometric variables, p...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate performance on selected reach directions of the Start Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) in an elite underage rugby union population, and determine if differences exist between the forward and back position units. This information may have implications for the application of this test in player injury prevention and management. DESIGN Descriptive study. SETTING Gymnasium a...

This paper is a preliminary study of address terms based on a small corpus of talk by members of a New Zealand rugby team collected using ethnographic fieldwork. The paper first looks at how address terms are used by different Communities of Practice within the rugby team then goes on to analyse the range of discourse functions of the speech acts that contain the address terms. A comparison of ...

Goal-setting effects on selected performance behaviors of 5 collegiate rugby players were assessed over an entire competitive season using self-generated targets and goal-attainment scaling. Results suggest that goal setting was effective for enhancing task-specific on-field behavior in rugby union.

Background: Rugby union players can take several days to fully recover from competition. Muscle damage induced during the match has a major role in player recovery; however the specific characteristics of match play that predict post-match muscle damage remains unclear. We examined the relationships between a marker of muscle damage and performance characteristics associated with physical conta...

BACKGROUND There is a continuing debate about the performance of protective headgear in rugby union, rugby league, and Australian rules football. OBJECTIVES To examine the impact energy attenuation performance of foam that could be incorporated into headgear and examine the performance of prototypes of modified headgear. METHODS Impact tests were conducted on polyethylene foams and protecti...

BACKGROUND Rugby union is the most popular worldwide collision sport, yet concerns have been raised regarding the safety of the sport due to the physical, high impact nature and an increasing number of injuries. METHODS A prospective, cohort study of the incidence, pattern and severity of injuries in rugby players in six Scottish schools during the second half of the 2008-09 season. Definitio...