The aim of this study was firstly, to investigate the percentage increase in the body size of the
Springbok rugby players over a period of 108 years and to compare this increase with that of the
general population. Secondly, it aimed at comparing the data of this study with existing data of
international rugby players in other countries. Data concerning 1349 rugby players that formed
part of the Springboks between 1896 and 2004 was collected in order to study the changes in
body size of these players. Of the 1349 players, 664 were forwards and 685 backs. To be able to
compare the data of the other international rugby players, the entire period was divided into two
groups, namely 1896-1970 and 1971-2004. The anthropometric variables only included body
length, body mass and body mass index (BMI) because in most cases, these were the only
variables that had been measured. The results were as follows: the total group registered a mass
increase of 2.03 (1.8-2.2)kg per decade and the increase in length per decade for the total group
was 0.84 (0.75-0.92)cm . As expected, the BMI had increased by 0.31 (0.27-0.34)kg/m-2 per
decade. The mass increase of the forwards and backs was 2.47 (2.32-2.61)kg per decade and
1.45 (1.32-1.57)kg per decade respectively. The length of the forwards and backs had increased
as follows: 0.94 (0.83-1.04)cm per decade and 0.69 (0.59-0.78)cm per decade respectively with
the BMI of the forwards and backs that had increased by 0.38 (0.33-1.43)kg/m-2 and 0.21 (0.18 -
0.26) kg/m-2 per decade respectively. The 95% confidence intervals for the increases with the
total group for body mass, body length and BMI all indicate that the increases for the period 1976-
2004 are statistically larger than the increases for the period 1896-2004 (r>0.25)The increases
with the forwards and back for the period 1976-2004 were also significantly larger (r>0.25)than
those of the general population. Compared to the other studies done on international rugby
players, it was found that the increase in length with the All Blacks and the Wallabies, namely 1.1-
2.1 cm per decade was larger than in the case of the Springboks, namely 0.84 cm per decade.
The mass increase of (2.1-3.1)kg per decade and BMI increase of (0.3-0.4)kg/m-2 was
comparable to the increases in mass (1.8-2.2)kg per decade and BMI (0.3-0.4)kg/m-2 that was
found with the Springbok rugby players. For team selection and game development, knowledge
regarding the change in body size and -form is becoming increasingly important to the trainers,
managers and selectors of the teams. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/856 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Meyer, Edri |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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