Sport psychological skills play an important role in sport performance. Evidence further suggests
that the psychological skill levels may be influenced by the particular playing position. One
hundred and eighty u/19 rugby players from the PUK Rugby Institute (average age: 18.79 +- 0.28 years) were tested during the 2003-2005 rugby seasons by means of the Competitive State Anxiety
Inventory-2 (CSAI-2), Psychological Skills Inventory (PSI), Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28
(ACSI-28), as well as a questionnaire dealing with psychosocial factors influencing participation
and performance in rugby. Players from the 2004 and 2005 seasons (n=120) were first divided into
two groups (top- and lower ranked players) of 60 players each. Effect size results (practical
significance) revealed moderately significant differences between the two groups, with the top
ranked players outscoring their lower ranked counterparts in self-confidence, general coping
resources, coping with adversity, average psychological skills score, as well as the effect of team
members/team spirit, coaches and financial aspects on participation and performance. These results
confirm that sport psychological skill levels and related psychosocial factors can distinguish
between rugby union players of different participation levels. Secondly, the total subject group
(n=180) was divided into seven positional groups (props, hookers, locks, loose trio, half-backs,
centres and back three). These groups were compared by means of effect sizes (practical
significance) for each of seven sport psychological skills as measured with the PSI. Moderate (46)
and large (20) practically significant differences were reported for the 147 inter-positional
comparisons. The results show that the half-backs and hookers consistently outperformed the other
three positional groups, while the props, locks and back three often showed the lowest skill levels.
While these results are discussed in reference to practical implications for future position specific
sport psychological skills training sessions, they clearly show that sport psychological skill levels
differ from one position to another. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/1251 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Andrew, Michelle |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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