Thesis (M. Tech.(Chiropractic))--Technikon Witwatersrand, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-74).

M.Comm. / Suid-Afrika was vir baie jare geisoleer van internasionale sportdeelname. Gevolglik het sport en sportorganisasies in Suid-Afrika agter geraak vergeleke met die res van die sportwereld. Hierdie tendens is egter nie uniek betreffende deelname op die veld nie, maar ook van die veld of by die bestuur van sport. Stephen Aris skryf dat sport in die laaste dekade 'n hoogs kommersiele besigheid geword het (1990. p.ix). Sport het ook deel geword van die massavermaaklikheidsbedryf. Die fokus van sportorganisasies ten opsigte van hul produkkonsep het begin verander sedert die besef dat hulle in die vermaaklikheidsbedryf is (Ebissch, 1984. p.32). Ook Sleight (1989. p.14) bevestig dat sport in 'n groot kommersiele bedryf ontwikkel het. Naas Botha (Rapport, 1995. p.25), oudrugbyspeler en gewese bemarkingsbestuurder van die eertydse Noord-Transvaalse Rugby Unie se ook: "Rugby is nie meer 'n spel nie, dis 'n besigheid". Rugby is nou 'n professionele sport en meer druk word op rugbyunies geplaas om hul eie fondse to genereer. "In die verlede is rugby as 'n amateurspel deur amateurs bestuur. Nou is dit 'n beroepspel en dit moet deur professionele bestuurders bestuur word" (Botha, 1996. p.27). Soos reeds genoem, word sport toenemend 'n besigheid en word die persepsie dat dit net 'n rekreasieaktiwiteit is, al meer op die agtergrond geplaas. In die VSA het sport as 'n besigheid so geweldig toegeneem dat dit 'n omset van 63,1 biljoen dollar in 1990 gehad het. Dit het tot gevolg dat dit toe reeds een van die vyf en twintig grootste industries in die VSA was (Comte & Stogel in Parkhouse, 1991. p.3 - 4).

M.Comm. / Sport is an integral part of just about every society and every country in the world. In many countries sport has become an essential part of the historical and cultural development of the country. Winning the rugby world cup in 1995 changed the history and future of South Africa significantly. In many ways, sport has the potential to define a society or country. Rugby as a team sport has attracted a lot of interest and attention over the past few years. Rugby at an elite level has rapidly changed from simply being an amateur pastime to being a significant global sporting industry. The progression from amateur to professional sport has increased the popularity of rugby and this has drawn attention to the business potential of the sport. No business, organisation or government entity can survive without finance. The saying ‘money makes the world go round’ accurately reflects the rugby industry, with television networks spending large amounts to air premiere events. From ticket sales to broadcasting revenue and sponsorship deals, sport teams can generate substantial amounts of money, but they also need to spend a lot to attract the best players. As the popularity of rugby continues to increase, so does the commercialisation of rugby. This commercialisation is reflected in the remuneration of the players. Rugby unions need to contract the best possible players in order to maximise team performance, as success on the field will have direct financial implications. The aspiration to contract the best possible players could lead to the financial distress of a rugby union if the union’s true financial position is not considered. Team owners of English and European football clubs condemn escalating player salaries and claim that they jeopardise the solvency of clubs. There is a real need for rugby unions to understand how the financial value reflected in the remuneration of a player is determined. The aim of this study will be to determine the factors that senior management and coaching staff at the five rugby unions in South Africa consider when determining the value of a player in contract negotiations. The empirical part of the study investigates the factors perceived to influence the value of rugby players by analysing and statistically interpreting the perceptions of senior management and coaching staff at rugby unions in South Africa. A quantitative research methodology will be applied to the study: this takes the form of a survey using a structured questionnaire. The population included all the rugby unions in South Africa and the sample represented all five rugby unions that participate in the Super 14 competition.

M.Phil. / In the South African context, sport plays an important role in uniting and uplifting the morale of people. Francois Pienaar, leading the Springboks (Amabokoboko) to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final at Ellis Park, filled many young talented South-African rugby players with the hope of succeeding at international level. As public figure, the elite rugby player requires many different skills to equip him for circumstances with which he might be confronted in lieu of his professional commitments. The professional sports person has become a commodity product through whom sponsors market their products. The dilemma professional rugby players encounter is that not only do they participate in the sport, but provide an input towards sport production. This involvement in the sports industry becomes important because of the image, which needs to be portrayed by all role players. Therefore it is necessary that research be done to offer guidelines for the holistic development of players. Addressing this problem South African role players need to facilitate sport development, which enables multi-dimensional and optimal personal- and career development of the elite rugby player.

No / Sport as a whole has recently been under greater scrutiny over the safety of its participants. The tragic death of Australian Test Cricketer Philip Hughes brought into stark focus the risk of head injury but there has also been greater awareness of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, concussion and use of performance enhancing drugs. Much of the research around concussion arises from what could be described as “collision” sports such as American football and ice hockey. The catalyst for discussions around concussion has tended to originate from these American sport. The significance of this increased awareness of safety has not been lost on the sport of rugby which has caused changes in practice in terms of concussion management but what appears not to have been fully appreciated is the additional risk of cervical spine injury associated with the sport.

Sport forms an integral part of our everyday living and .has a big influence on the lives of young developing children. Participation in sport has become part of early childhood. Therefore it is of utmost importance that talent identification must start at a very early age. Due to a lack of scientific research in rugby, progress according to talent identification, has developed slightly. Very few scientific methods of identification among young rugby players could be found in literature. The aim of this study is to identify specific rugby skills, physical, motor, anthropometric and psychological variables that could be used to determine talent for 16 year-old adolescence. A test· battery of 24 rugby skills, physical and motor abilities and 14 anthropometrical tests were administered. A sport psychological performance inventory was also conducted. The top three rugby teams in the under sixteen league in the Northwest Province were used in the test as well as 41 non-rugby players. The results of these three teams were used as a criteria for rugby talent among sixteen year-old boys. In order to find the best predictors of talent, stepwise discriminant analyses (SAS Discrim procedure) were conducted on the data to find the subset of best "discriminators" among all predictors which indicated· variables that are able to identify talent at this age. Results, indicated that predictions between talented and less talented rugby players were possible and that these predictions can be useful to coaches to determine talented and less talented rugby players at sixteen years of age. / Thesis (MEd (Voorligting))--PU vir CHO, 1997

Sport forms an integral part of our everyday living and .has a big influence on the lives of young developing children. Participation in sport has become part of early childhood. Therefore it is of utmost importance that talent identification must start at a very early age. Due to a lack of scientific research in rugby, progress according to talent identification, has developed slightly. Very few scientific methods of identification among young rugby players could be found in literature. The aim of this study is to identify specific rugby skills, physical, motor, anthropometric and psychological variables that could be used to determine talent for 16 year-old adolescence. A test· battery of 24 rugby skills, physical and motor abilities and 14 anthropometrical tests were administered. A sport psychological performance inventory was also conducted. The top three rugby teams in the under sixteen league in the Northwest Province were used in the test as well as 41 non-rugby players. The results of these three teams were used as a criteria for rugby talent among sixteen year-old boys. In order to find the best predictors of talent, stepwise discriminant analyses (SAS Discrim procedure) were conducted on the data to find the subset of best "discriminators" among all predictors which indicated· variables that are able to identify talent at this age. Results, indicated that predictions between talented and less talented rugby players were possible and that these predictions can be useful to coaches to determine talented and less talented rugby players at sixteen years of age. / Thesis (MEd (Voorligting))--PU vir CHO, 1997

The purpose of this study was to find whether cross training could improve male adolescent rugby skills. Three major sports (soccer, basketball and wrestling) were selected to form the base of the cross training intervention program. Pre- and post-tests were performed with the entire rugby squad (24 participants) prior to and at the conclusion of the intervention program. After pre-testing, the participants were grouped into either the intervention (12) or the control group (12). Supervised cross training sessions were performed twice a week for 10 weeks as well as traditional rugby training twice a week for 10 weeks with the intervention group. The control group performed supervised conventional rugby training twice a week for 10 weeks. All participants (24) played in a rugby match once a week during the 10 week period of the study.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 266-274).

Thesis (M.A.(Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.