M.A. / South Africans are known for their love of sports and rugby is one of the most popular sports in the country. Due to this nationwide love of rugby children are often exposed to the game from a very young age. However, children’s participation in competitive rugby is a complex matter. It is unclear whether children participate in rugby for the simple love of the game or because of the competitive culture that is dominant within South Africa. Numerous studies have expressed concerns about children’s participation in rugby due to the physical risks, the psychological stress that accompanies competitive sports, the emphasis on winning (pressure to perform) and the resultant disappointment of losing. Research has also demonstrated that elevated anxiety levels are an integral part of competitive sport participation and impact physiological and psychological behavioural responses. However, previous research has not focused on anxiety in relation to competitive sport participation in the South African context or on the impact that participation in competitive rugby has on children in South Africa. This study thus aimed to investigate the anxiety experienced by high school rugby players and determine the extent to which their involvement in competitive rugby contributes to this anxiety. A within-and-between, quasi-experimental design study was conducted to address this primary aim. Twenty (20) children participated in the study; 10 of the participants played high school rugby, while the remaining 10 participants were not involved in any sport.

M.A. / In this study it is assumed that psychological factors are playing an increasingly important role in the success of rugby teams in a professional era. One such a factor is that of group dynamics and specifically that of group cohesion. In this study, the use of another psychological construct, personality, in the improvement of cohesion is investigated. The personality profiles of the players in a particular team are analysed to determine the possible effects that the personalities of the players could have on the cohesion in the team. In this regard, the Jackson Personality Inventory —Revised is used to plot the personality profiles of all the players. Only scales of the inventory, that are relevant to cohesion, are being used. The relevancy of these particular scales are determined by the literary review of the cohesion construct, which includes the definition and essence of cohesion. Correlation studies would have to determine the true correlation between cohesion and the selected scales of the inventory. General tendencies in the team regarding the profiles and consequent influence on cohesion are discussed as well as the individual profiles of each one of the members of the team. In this regard, the possible influence that a particular player's personality profile could have on the cohesion in the team, is indicated and discussed. It is concluded that the use of personality profiles could be seen as a framework from which coaches and managers of rugbyteams could make use of in order to improve the cohesion in the team.