OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between composite FMS score and the risk of time-loss injury in experienced male rugby union athletes, and in addition, to determine the relationship between FMS-determined bilateral movement asymmetries and the risk of time-loss injury in these athletes. DESIGN: Analytical cohort study. SETTING: Rugby union on-field training and competition, and athletic therapy rooms at the University of Victoria or at Rugby Canada’s Center of Excellence, Victoria BC. PARTICIPANTS: 76 experienced, male rugby union athletes (mean age 21.6±2.7 years). MEASUREMENTS: Participants completed surveys pertaining to demographic, anthropometric, injury history, and involvement in rugby union information. The main outcome measures were time-loss injury incidence and FMS scores. RESULTS: Odds ratio analyses revealed that when compared to those scoring at least 14.5, players with FMS scores below 14.5 were 10.42 times (95%CI: 1.28-84.75, Fisher’s exact test, one-tailed, p=0.007) more likely to have sustained time-loss injury (+LR=7.08, -LR=0.72, specificity=0.95, sensitivity=0.35) in Season One and 4.97 times (95%CI: 1.02-24.19, Fisher’s exact test, one-tailed, p=0.029) more likely in Season Two (+LR=3.56, -LR=0.71 specificity=0.90, sensitivity=0.36). Participants scoring below 15.5 on the FMS were also at significantly greater risk of injury, exhibiting a risk of injury 3.37 times (95%CI: 1.12-10.14, Fisher’s exact test, one-tailed, p=0.027) greater than players with higher FMS scores in Season Two (+LR=1.84, -LR=0.55, specificity=0.65, sensitivity=0.64), but not in Season One. The presence of bilateral asymmetries was not associated with increased likelihood of time-loss injury. CONCLUSIONS: Experienced male rugby union athletes with preseason FMS scores below 14.5 are 5-10 times more likely to sustain one or more time-loss injuries in a competitive season when compared to athletes with FMS scores of at least 14.5. The quality of fundamental movement, as assessed by the FMS, is predictive of time-loss injury risk in experienced rugby union athletes and should be considered an important preseason player assessment tool. / Graduate

Thesis (D.Phil.(Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Summary in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MSportwet)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the Internet.

El presente estudio longitudinal indaga la relación entre autoeficacia, expectativas de resultado y desempeño deportivo en un grupo de jugadores del Campeonato Metropolitano de Rugby del año 2011 (n=227). A nivel general, en los tres momentos de la evaluación se observaron sistemáticamente asociaciones directas y moderadas entre los constructos evaluados. Adicionalmente, los participantes de los equipos mejor posicionados reportaron puntajes más altos de autoeficacia y expectativas de resultado que los participantes de los equipos peor posicionados; y, se observó que la autoeficacia y las expectativas de resultado no variaron significativamente durante el estudio. Esto último corrobora que una vez establecidas las condiciones contextuales para la auto-evaluación de grupos e individuos, la auto-eficacia y las expectativas de resultado suelen ser relativamente estables en el tiempo. / This longitudinal study explores the relationship between self-efficacy, outcome expectancies and sports performance in a group of players from Metropolitan Rugby Championship in 2011 (n = 227). In general, in the three times of assessment it was observed moderate direct associations between the constructs assessed. Additionally, participants from the teams best positioned reported higher scores of self-efficacy and outcome expectations than participants worst positioned and it was found that self-efficacy and outcome expectations did not change significantly during the study. This confirmed that once established the contextual conditions for self-evaluation of groups and individuals, self-efficacy and outcome expectations are relatively stable over time. / Tesis

Over 7 million participants play rugby union throughout over 120 countries. Despite this global status, very little is known about the longer-term health outcomes of players, or how health and health-related quality of life are influenced by participation in rugby union. The aim of this thesis was to design and undertake an epidemiological study to assess overall health, the presence of morbidity, and development of osteoarthritis within former elite rugby players. In addition to establishing a study, and assessing health and morbidity, secondary aims were to compare the prevalence of morbidity in this population with age-matched representative population-based survey participants, and to examine risk factors associated with the development of osteoarthritis in this population. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was designed to assess physician-diagnosed morbidity, playing exposure, injury history and current health status. Former rugby players for Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and members of the England Rugby Internationals Club, were invited to participate in this study. Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and the Health Survey for England (HSE) were used as population-based representative comparator groups. These four studies examine the feasibility of involving rugby players in sport-related healthcare research, the prevalence of morbidity and health-related quality of life relative to the general population, the prevalence and risk factors for osteoarthritis-related outcomes, and finally develop a prediction model of end-stage hip failure in this population. Involving players throughout the research cycle as experts of their own experience was seen to influence the research process and questionnaire development, and ensured this process was grounded in players' beliefs and experiences. In terms of physician-diagnosed morbidity, former players were seen to demonstrate less diabetes than ELSA participants, but more osteoporosis, anxiety, osteoarthritis (OA) and joint replacement. Risk factors for osteoarthritis-related outcomes were seen to vary between the knee, hip and shoulder, and between the definitions of osteoarthritis used (NHANES pain, physician-diagnosed OA or joint replacement). Joint-specific injury was most highly associated with osteoarthritis across all joints and definitions used. The prediction model for hip replacement was strong (AUC 0.88), despite the relatively small development dataset, and again emphasised injury, in addition to Slipped Upper Femoral Epiphysis, age, family history, and playing in the second row, as predictive of hip replacement. This was not externally validated, however internal validation was undertaken. This work has not only established health outcomes in this population, and developed the methodology and survey tools to replicate this work in other cohorts, but also assesses risk factors and strongly predicts poor OA outcome in this population. This work presents potential intervention opportunities for the sport to begin to address the now quantified health deficits; and also presents benefits of elite contact sports participation. These findings should support efforts to ensure healthy participation and adequate proactive management of health at the elite level, for all players.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Barbara DeSanto / Rugby was created in 1876 and since then has expanded from the colleges of England to a globally played sport. Rugby, along with many other sports such as lacrosse and cricket, has found difficulties in obtaining mainstream media attention in the United States. This series of in-depth interviews explore how U.S. rugby may be able to utilize social media to elevate rugby to mainstream media status. This study will use in-depth interviews to understand the strategies of Division 1 Men’s U.S. Rugby social media officials and media strategists from the Professional Rugby Organization (PRO). These in-depth interviews will first identify what strategies rugby has used, then will evaluate which strategies efficiency. Second, the in-depth interviews of the club-level social media chairs will also be asked about his or her background in social media strategy. The information collected will be used to make recommendations as to what professional rugby and club-level rugby strategies should be used on social media. The information will also be used to identify what level social media rugby chairs should be educated or trained in using social media, if any. This study also explored the outcomes of the social media efforts for the advancement of rugby in the U.S. as well as emerging sports in the future.

South Africans are very much a sporting nation with the ability to host and compete on the world stage in classic fashion. Through sport and inspirational leadership South Africans have united as one nation behind any particular sport discipline.To this end a qualitative research study was conducted with key stake holders within the South African Super Rugby industry. Structured interviews were conducted to highlight or unearth attributes or factors that may or may not influence Super Rugby athlete value when contract discussions took place.The research found that although rugby player contract offering is based on physical performance measures there are other factors which can be attributed to an individual that may impact that player’s perceived value. These attributes can and usually do vary between individuals. The research managed not only to highlight a number of attributes that are relevant to professional rugby player value but created a basis from which more research can be conducted enhancing knowledge around South African Super Rugby players. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Magister Artium (Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science) - MA(SRES) / Rugby games are characterised by intense bursts of speed mainly executed by backline players at either maximum or sub-maximum velocities over distances of up to 70 meters. Other key features of the game include rapid directional changes, displays of power and other dynamic activities such as lifting and jumping in the lineouts, tackling, pushing in scrums and contesting for the ball. These bouts of intense physical activity constitute a major part of the game, which take place over a period of 80 minutes and in some instances even longer. These powerful spells of play are interspersed by brief periods of rest mainly due to stoppages called by the referees when rules are infringed, when the ball is out of play, or when players incur injuries. These breaks can also be due to play being reviewed by match officials. It is quite evident from the aforementioned that speed, agility and power are essential performance components for any rugby player and, with an increased focus on mobility and speed in the modern game, the importance of these components has increased in significance. Coaches are consequently continuously searching for training and coaching techniques that will maximally develop these qualities to give their teams an advantage over their opponents. Both line sprinting and plyometric training have proven to have beneficial effects on speed and power output. However, there is a dearth of research information on which one of the two approaches is the most beneficial. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine which training regime, line sprinting or plyometric training, brings about the biggest improvement in the speed, lower body power output, agility and speed of intermediate rugby players. This study employed a quasi-experimental research design, as it did not include a control group. Participants included 22 rugby players participating at club level, aged 18-25 years, with training sessions on at least three days of the week and a league or friendly match once a week. The players were randomly placed in either the line sprinting group or the plyometric training group (11 players per group). Participants were informed of the possible experimental risks of the study. All participants were required to complete a health questionnaire to ensure no chronic illnesses or major signs and symptoms suggestive of coronary artery or pulmonary disease were present in anyone taking part in the study. Participants took part in either sprint or plyometric training twice a day, with at least one day of rest in between training days. Participants were assessed on their speed, speed endurance, agility and power components pre -and post the eight-week intervention period. For the speed tests done before and after the intervention programme, participants performed maximal sprints over 40- and 80-metre distances. For agility, the T-test was used, and for power, the standing long jump. The research received ethics clearance from the University of the Western Cape’s Biomedical Research Ethics Committee (Ethics Reference Number: BM17/1/17). After the eight-week intervention programme, the line sprinting group improved significantly in their performances for three of the four performance measures. The only measure that did not improve significantly was the 80m sprint. The plyometric group on the other hand showed improvements in two categories only - agility and the standing long jump – while no significant improvements were found in any of the sprint distances. In conclusion, the findings demonstrated that both line sprinting and plyometric training regimes are effective in improving agility and leg power and that line sprinting performed over 10, 20, 40 and 100 metres is an effective training protocol to improve 40m sprint time. Neither the line sprinting nor the plyometric training resulted in significant improvements over the 80-m distance. A comparison of the effect sizes of the two training methods revealed that except for the improvement in agility of the plyometric training group, the speed, power and sprint endurance training benefits of these two training methods do not differ.

Thesis (M.Sp.L.S.)--University of Waikato, 2008. / Title from PDF cover (viewed February 23, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-110)

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2005. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: Diane L. Gill; submitted to the School of Health and Human Performance. Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-104).