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Ruck Frequency as a predictor of success in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Tournament

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  • K. Michele van Rooyen
  • Emile Diedrick
  • D. Timothy Noakes

Abstract

An evaluation of the 2007 Rugby World Cup was conducted to establish if ruck occurrence could predict successful performance. These data were compared with the 6 Nations and Tri Nations competitions of 2007. There were 117 (range 65 – 172) rucks per match. The knockout stages had a greater number of rucks per game (121 range 71-164) than the pool stages (116 range 65-172). 66% of rucks occurred in the midfield zones, 28% in the attacking and 7% in the defensive zones. Comparisons with the 6 Nations and Tri Nations revealed that there were 20% fewer rucks during World Cup matches. Matches during the pool stages were won (58%) by teams with the highest number of rucks. This was also observed during the 6 Nations and the Tri Nations. In the knockout stages the team with the fewest rucks won 100% of the matches. These data suggest that during International rugby competitions and pool stages of a World Cup, the greater the number of rucks that a team creates, the more likely it is to win the match. This strategy was not effective during the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup; here the avoidance of rucking was associated with success.

Suggested Citation

  • K. Michele van Rooyen & Emile Diedrick & D. Timothy Noakes, 2010. "Ruck Frequency as a predictor of success in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Tournament," International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 33-46, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rpanxx:v:10:y:2010:i:1:p:33-46
    DOI: 10.1080/24748668.2010.11868499
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    Cited by:

    1. Higham Dean G. & Hopkins Will G. & Pyne David B. & Anson Judith M., 2014. "Relationships between rugby sevens performance indicators and international tournament outcomes," Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 81-87, January.

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