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Change in Ball Continuity Situations in Breakdown in World-Class Rugby
― Focusing on the Number of Players Involved and Time Required to Get the Ball out ― [Received June 8, 2016; Accepted August 4, 2017] The purpose of this study was to clarify the change in ball continuity in breakdown in world-class rugby. We analyzed the number of offensive and defensive players involved in breakdown, and the time required to get the ball out from breakdown. To visualize the changes in 2012 and 2014, 24 games were sampled from the Six Nations and the Rugby Championships. The results between 2014 and 2012 were compared. The main results were as follows: 1) Breakdowns with two and three players including both offense and defense increased, and breakdowns with five or more players decreased. 2) Breakdowns with two offensive players increased, and breakdowns with four or more offensive players decreased. 3) Breakdowns with one defensive player increased. 4) Breakdowns within two and three seconds increased, and breakdowns within six or more seconds decreased. These results from the two years examined suggest that the majority of breakdowns occur with a smaller number of players and within two to three seconds. Therefore, there is a need to increase speed in breakdowns. Keywords: Game performance analysis, Breakdown, Ball out, Continuity |