Analysis of My performance In Rugby

AS and A Level Physical Education (Sport & Coaching)

Analysis of My performance

In Rugby

In the first section of my project I need to identify the important skills, techniques and fitness components that are needed to participate at outside centre which is the position I play at rugby, I will also explain why they are relevant

Cardio-vascular endurance

In a game of rugby which lasts seventy minutes at the level which I play, you need to be ready to run with ball, close the opposition down in defence and chase a kick over the top of the defence. To do all of these you need CV endurance, a good level of CV endurance can be seen by other people, as you’re the one in the dieing minutes of the match who is chasing back to make the tackle. In the position I play you get quite a lot of rest periods because you are usually getting in position to either attack or defend. If you play in the forwards you are needed at every breakdown to be able to secure the ball for the backs to do the rest, this requires an immense level of CV endurance. The capacity of your lungs plays a big part in whether you last the whole match, the more oxygen your lungs can hold the longer you can perform to a high standard.

Speed

To play in my position speed helps a lot as it gives you the ability to take on your opposite man. However I lack speed and still seem to be able to get past the defence and offload the ball. Speed is needed when running with the ball to be able to get into the space and pass the opposition. The range of movement at a joint increases the amount of speed you can create, when running at high speed the hip joint is under a lot of pressure as it oscillating many times a second. The larger flexibility at a joint the more speed will be generated; therefore you will leave the defenders behind you and score more precious points.

Timing

Timing is very important because if you don’t have timing all the basics of being a rugby player will be very hard to achieve. Passing a rugby ball may seem quite an easy skill; however passing a ball whilst running at top speed with a defender attempting to tackle you can be very difficult, timing is crucial to be able to offload the ball just at the right time so that your team-mate can break the gap without being tackled. Most professional players can pass the ball more than 15-20metres this is also down to timing executing the release of the ball just at the right time so the ball can fly in the correct way making the ball travel further. The most important part of having good timing to me is when I anticipate the oppositions pass to make an interception as they’re on the back foot you can counter attack and hopefully score.

Catching

Rugby is a game of passing and catching and to be able to catch the ball is crucial, whether you’re catching the ball from your team-mate or catching a high kick from the opposition. If you can successfully catch the ball in attack you can open up a lot more options of where you can run with the ball or pass the ball. If the ball is dropped forward you lose possession. In defence catching is also a vital part of the game, when playing at full-back to catch a high ball is crucial because you then have the option of either finding touch or progressing up the field. The key to successfully catching the ball is to keep you’re eyes on the ball until it enters your hands.

Decision Making

To be able to play in my position you need to have a good “rugby brain”, by this I mean being able to make split second decisions for example knowing whether to place a small chip just behind the defence so that you can chase the ball down or do you carry the ball forward and form a ruck to set up the next phase of play or do you draw the man and offload the ball to the nearest man. These are the decisions you have to make almost every 20 seconds in a game of rugby. Therefore the effective use on the information processing model is useful here.

I will now place a percentage on the health related and skill related fitness components on a graph to show which of these components are more important in a game of rugby.

This pie chart shows which health related fitness components are most important:

CV endurance = 25%
Muscular endurance=20%
Speed=15%
Strength=30%
Flexibility=10%

In my position I believe that strength is the most important element of my game as when I am attacking or defending strength is always needed.

This pie chart shows which skill related skill related fitness components are most important:

Agility=15%
Coordination=20%
Balance=15%
Speed of reaction=20%
Timing=30%

In the position which I play timing is vital as I need to make decisions at the right time and also when kicking the ball I need to time the leg movement so that I execute ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

CV endurance = 25%
Muscular endurance=20%
Speed=15%
Strength=30%
Flexibility=10%

In my position I believe that strength is the most important element of my game as when I am attacking or defending strength is always needed.

This pie chart shows which skill related skill related fitness components are most important:

Agility=15%
Coordination=20%
Balance=15%
Speed of reaction=20%
Timing=30%

In the position which I play timing is vital as I need to make decisions at the right time and also when kicking the ball I need to time the leg movement so that I execute my kick perfectly.

In the second section of my project I will identify my strengths and the effects that they have on my performance.

Muscular Endurance

When playing rugby muscular endurance is essential because you are continuously making tackles throughout the match therefore using certain muscle groups over and over again. The muscles in my legs are used all of the time when playing, whether I am running or pumping my legs rapidly to drive the opposition off the ball. My upper body muscular endurance lacks strength as when I make a tackle late in the game I don’t feel as if I’m hitting the opposition as hard as I was and my biceps and pectorals begin to feel slightly fatigued. To improve muscular endurance in my arms and upper body I will have to lift lower weights and execute more repetitions, gradually building up my muscular endurance.

Strength

In a game of rugby there are many aspects of strength which are needed for example strength in attack is very valuable and I believe this is my strongest asset when moving forward with the ball I use my shoulder to hit the opposition causing them to become off balance therefore creating space for either me to carry on my run or to offload the ball to a team-mate. In a ruck or maul situation strength is vital to be able to get low using certain leg muscles and drive the opposition of the ball using your whole body as a barrier, protecting the ball for your scrum-half to feed the fly-half. To me as a back the most important element of strength to have is explosive strength, raw speed from a standing start or from a rolling start to be able to change direction in an instant (also agility) which also changes the direction of play resulting in the opposition being on the back foot giving your team the opportunity to score points.

Tackling

Tackling is the key to whether you win or lose games. Miss tackles, lose points. Being able to tackle on both shoulders is a strength which I have always had and helps me when I play as the opposition come towards me either way the go I hit them hard and low. There are three different ways in which you can make a tackle:

A front on tackle when you need to keep your head up watch the hips of the opposing player in a crouched position, hit just below the hips with your shoulder first and let your arms follow and bring them to the ground.
The side tackle is usually takes place near a touch line when the winger is sprinting down the line and the same applies here; watch your target hit them just below the hip and this time try to direct them into touch.
The rear tackle is my favourite tackle and the on I am best at when your opponent has beaten you for pace you have to turn and chase them down. Wait for the right moment and hit them just in the small of the back with your shoulder and slide down their legs and bring them down. You must watch out for the studs of the opponent catching you in the face.

When performing a tackle you must always make sure that your head is on the correct side otherwise you may end up seriously injured. “Cheek to Cheek” your cheek must be on their behind so that they don’t fall on to your neck and cause damage.

Passing

Passing the ball is what the game of rugby is about. Quick, short, sharp passing or long looping passes out to the wingers to finish the moves off. I am able to pass the ball off both my right and my left hand, this gives me more options when in a game as I can look either side to offload a the ball to a supporting player. To be able to pass the ball over a long distance is also needed at times to spread the ball across the pitch quickly if there is an overlap or a gap out wide for the winger to run through. Passing the ball accurately is key to be able to do this comes with time and hours of practice, when entering the opposition half an accurate pass can be key to executing a move correctly. I have being playing rugby now for seven years, therefore passing accurately consistently is almost second nature to me now and is definitely one of the stronger points to my game.

Kicking

Kicking in a game of rugby can be used to change the direction of play in an instant. Defensively kicking is also very important to be able to kick the ball to touch and gain yards to get out of your own half/22m. Speed, balance, flexibility and skill are required to carry out this action successfully. Making the decision to kick the ball at the right time is also a key part of kicking. If my team gets awarded a penalty I am the player who is elected to kick the ball into touch and create an attacking opportunity in the opponents half as the line-out will be awarded to our team. I am also the place kicker for my team, in a situation when I feel I can kick the ball through the posts successfully from a penalty I will attempt a kick at goal. To able to achieve the best results I need immense balance and flexibility at the hip joint so that I can produce as much power that is possible and kick the ball a greater distance and hopefully I rotate my body in the correct way so that the ball flies straight and true towards my target, timing and coordination are essential in this part of my game. This also applies when I attempt a conversion.

The next section of analysing my performance is highlighting my own weaknesses and what I can do to improve this so that I can perform at a higher standard.

Passing the ball out of the tackle

To be able to execute this skill successfully you must have excellent timing and coordination. In a game situation when I go into the tackle and have a player in support I try to offload the ball however with a lack of composure and usually pass the ball quite erratically, causing my team-mate to knock the ball on, resulting in our team losing possession. To improve this weakness that I have always had trouble in executing well, I should take the ball to ground and consider my options: either pop the ball up to the first man at the breakdown or set the ball for the forwards to secure the ball, creating a 2nd phase of play.

Cardio-vascular endurance

At the beginning of a match I perform to the best of my ability. I am able to make every tackle, break through the line of defence and chase the ball if a kick is placed over the top of the defence. However when the game progresses my breathing becomes less efficient which is caused by the lack of oxygen getting into the blood supply. To increase my CV endurance I will have to take part in fartlek training which is continuous training designed to stress the aerobic energy system. Fartlek consists of steady paced running followed by a series of short bursts of sprinting which increases the volume of the lungs as more air is inhaled and exhaled. After a few weeks of this training results can be seen on the pitch and should pay off in the end.

Speed

This is one element of the game which I have always lacked a great amount of and this causes me not to perform at the level which I could do. If I were to have speed I would be able to beat the defender much more easily and score more tries, however at the moment I am the supplier to most tries as I don’t have the edge of pace which the wingers outside of me do have. If I were to do some basic sprint training this would gradually build up my fast twitch fibres resulting in me being faster in the long run. Also If I were to do some stretches to increase the suppleness at certain joints e.g. my hip joint, this would mean I could generate more power and hopefully move quicker.

In this section of my project I will run you through a series of practices progressing from a simple exercise into a more complex small game situation, gradually building up the level of skill needed to successfully execute the practice.

Key

= Attacking player

= Defensive player

= The ball

= Direction of ball

=Direction of player

Once all of these drills have been run through a number of times passing the ball at speed and accurately should improve and in defence the ability to tackle and stay in defensive lines should also become considerably easier. These drills will make sure that when I am playing in a match I am much more confident in the role I have to play in attack and especially in defence.

The next section of my project is to complete a six week training programme for myself and see the results at the end of the six weeks, then I will discuss what I expect to see at the end of the training programme.

In order for me to achieve the best results from my training programme I must slowly increase the amount of work I put in. I will do this by increasing the weights which I lift/press and also the distance which I run.

On a morning which I decide to go for a run I will increase the distance which I run by half a mile after each week this means that by the end of the 6 weeks I will be running 5 miles every morning before I go to school, this will drastically increase my CV endurance and improve my performance on the pitch.

On Monday and Saturday when I go to the gym I will increase the weights which I am lifting when doing bicep curls. After each week I will lift an extra 0.5kg eventually I will be lifting 10kg weights but still doing low reps to build up my static strength in my arms. To build my core stability to a higher level in the 3rd week I will introduce a 5kg medicine ball on my chest to build up my abdominal muscles, once I find this easier I will lift the medicine ball above my head as the further the weight is from my hips the larger the weight (like a lever).

On Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons to make the task of kicking harder for myself I can introduce a rule in the 3rd weeks that I have to aim at a single post to make it more difficult to hit my target and precision is needed, this will develop my accuracy. To develop my distance from a place kick I can try to kick at goal from a further distance. However still concentrating on technique and not kicking the ball as hard as I can.

On a school night when I pass a ball with my friends I could introduce another ball to increase my hand eye coordination and timing to deliver the pass at the correct time so that my friend can catch the ball easier.

In the next section of my project I am going to highlight some of the positive and negative factors which may affect performance.

Drugs

At the level which I play drug testing does not take place; however when you reach a higher level like playing for a professional club drug testing is a weekly occurrence. At the age which I am social drugs e.g. cannabis can be quite easy to get hold of therefore some people who play at my age play the morning after they have being smoking cannabis. This will have a bad effect on the person’s performance as their reactions will be slower causing them to drop the ball easily. They may also lose concentration easily resulting in a missed tackle which gives points to the opposition. If you want to play rugby at a high level taking drugs is not a good idea as it may affect your performance greatly.

Stress

If you are suffering from stress your performance on the rugby pitch may deteriorate for the reason that your mind is not on your task and you are concentrating on other things e.g. Behind in coursework, family disputes etc. If you were to make a mistake on the pitch and somebody criticizes you your head will drop instantly and you won’t want to do anything about it if you’re suffering from stress. On the other hand you may react in a different way and do something you regret and end up watching from the sidelines.

Family/peer support

If you have your family/friends on the sideline you will feel as if you have to play well as they have made the effort to come and watch you therefore I find that I put in 100% and usually get good results. However some people may disagree, people can get distracted by close friends (girlfriends especially) as their minds are on trying to do too much to impress their friends, which can sometimes backfire and you can make the wrong decision and lose the chance for your team to score points by being selfish.

Height

In some positions height is a very good advantage to have e.g. second row the “engine” in the centre of the scrum long legs to generate a lot of power to push the opposition off the ball. In a line-out height is also essential the second rows usually get lifted and compete for the ball in the air, that extra inch could be the key to whether you win or lose possession. The position which I play (outside centre) height can be useful to catch a cross field kick above your opposite man; however it is not a vital characteristic to play where I do.

Media

The media is an excellent tool for young budding rugby stars to see what the stars of today do and how they play. Rugby is shown quite often on television these days e.g. the six nations. Young people who watch the likes of Jonny Wilkinson making an inch perfect pass to let their team-mate in to score in the corner try to emulate what they have seen and don’t play selfish rugby. To be able to see the technical model from your own living room is excellent for the world of rugby. Young players will begin to play how they see on the television.

The final section of my project is what I would expect to see in my overall performance as a result of the six week training programme which I have devised.

Once the training programme is completed their would be a vast increase in CV endurance because of all the continuous training which took place. Therefore the efficiency of the circulatory system which carries blood to different muscles around the body and back to the heart will have increased a great amount. The amount of haemoglobin in the blood will have also increased as well as the amount of red blood cells. The capacity of the lungs will have increased as they are more expandable; therefore can carry more oxygen, making it easier to breath for a longer period of time. The muscles in the diaphragm contract at a greater speed when exercising this causes the diaphragm to grown much stronger. All of these aspects of good CV endurance would allow me to work at a higher rate for a much longer time span.

Not only would my CV endurance have increased. My muscular endurance would have also increased greatly. Many different muscle groups would have developed in such a way that allows me to perform at a higher standard for a longer space of time. My upper body strength (pectorals, biceps and triceps) will have also been greatly developed allowing me to tackle harder and drive opposing players off the ball therefore securing possession for my team and showing the opposition that I am a forceful player and this will maybe mentally dishearten the opposition creating more opportunities to score precious points.

Over the six week period I have been concentrating mainly on my distribution of the ball when in a contact situation. I believe that if I were to work on this skill consistently every training session I could maintain a certain level of composure to be able to execute this skill successfully using my programme as a basis to build on, setting myself goals to achieve better results when this situation occurs.

If I were to practice my place kicking on Wednesdays and Saturdays eventually I would be able to kick the ball in such a way that it flies correctly and has a greater chance of scoring points. The chance of this happening would be down to the flexibility in my hip joint to be able to generate enough power to kick the ball a longer distance, which is a key element to kicking penalties.

Overall the six week training programme would benefit me as a performer as I would be able to last the whole match performing to a higher standard and practicing my skills most days of the week would also increase my playing potential because I would know what to do at the right time and execute certain skills in a much more positive manner, which would build my confidence up greatly resulting in a much better performance.

“The good train hard. The best train harder”

Adam Dixon

11J2