Objectives: Rugby union is a contact sport with a high injury rate. The tackle
situation in rugby union is the cause of most injuries. The aim of this study was to
investigate biomechanical aspects of the tackle in professional rugby to identify
possible mechanisms of injury in the tackle. From this recommendations can be
made to make the tackle safer.
Methods: Video material from six Super 14 rugby matches involving the Cheetahs
was analysed. The number of tackles (20) resulting in injury to a player was
reported and nine further associated factors explored by determining differences
using 95% confidence intervals. Significance was set at p = 0.05 and calculated
from the proportional number of injuries from each category relative to the total
number of tackles made. An odds ratio was calculated to determine practical
significance where clinical significance could not be found. A total number of 744
tackles were analysed which occurred during 480 minutes of rugby accounting for
7200 player minutes.
Results: From the 744 tackles that were made or received, 20 (2.7%) tackles
resulted in injury, accounting to 167 tackle injuries per 1000 player match hours.
The study found that significantly more injuries (p = 0.048) were sustained by
tacklers performing a tackle in the attacking 22m compared to the other field
positions. Most of the tackles occurred in Channel 2+ (n = 622, 83.6%) which
resulted to the vast majority of tackles occurring in this game situation. Seventeen
(85.0%) of the 20 injuries were sustained during Channel 2+ play, of which 13
(65.0%) ball carriers and 4 (20.0%) tacklers were injured. This had an odds ratio
with practical significance. The body part hit in the tackle was often not the body
part injured. Muscle contusions were the most common type of injury.
Conclusions: A high incidence of tackle injuries was recorded. The tackle remains
the most dangerous phase of play in rugby union. Different biomechanical aspects
occur in the tackle that contribute to injury. The field position where a tackle takes place was found to be an important risk factor in the cause of injury. Front-on
tackles and high impact vectors are associated with increased injury rates. The
channel of play was also an important area where ball carriers sustained injuries.
Factors influencing the tackle situation in certain areas of the field and certain
channels of play can be made safer by placing emphasis on mental coaching,
composure in pressure situations and maintaining the correct playing and tackle
techniques to prevent tackle injuries in these areas and channels of play. Further
research on these aspects is recommended.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-07302013-132024 |
| Date | 30 July 2013 |
| Creators | Strauss, Georg Linde |
| Contributors | Dr LJ Holtzhausen |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-07302013-132024/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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