S.B. Mavrina¹
PhD, Associate Professor V.A. Ivanov¹
J.V. Kruglova1
S.M. Nosov1
A.V. Nosova^1
1Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow

Keywords: isomorphic unit, game cycle, game moment, game setting interval.

Background. Competitive process analysis in rugby cannot be objective enough unless based on statistically dependable competitive performance data and rates to ensure the precompetitive training system being efficient.

Objective of the study was to analyse the competitive process design and management in rugby on a skills-specific basis.

Methods and structure of the study. For the training systems in rugby being persistently improved, an inflow of objective competitive performance rating data is critical. Competitive performance in modern team sports is rather specific, with the process design and content depending on the competitors’ individual performance varying in a wide range depending on game roles, and modern rugby sport is not an exclusion. A highly qualified rugby player should have excellent strategic and tactical game-control skills; all-round fitness; good theoretical knowledge forming a basis for the individual tactical and tactical skills; and a set of perfect physical qualities pivotal for success in modern rugby competitions. Competitive process analysis in rugby cannot be objective enough unless based on statistically dependable performance data and rates [4, p. 27] that need to be comprehensive and inclusive, i.e. generated by a consistent test system – other than the mostly fragmented and uncoordinated tests dominating at present in the national sports. We believe that the test process may be harmonised based on a definition of a system-forming element i.e. isomorphic unit/ fragment typical for every subject with no exclusion, conditional on the fragment duly representing every specific feature of the subject phenomenon including the endogenous and exogenous contents of the competitive process [1, p. 64].

For the purposes of the study, we classified the rugby competitive process in a few repeated cyclic fragments that compose the game on the whole i.e. cover the whole competitive process range and may be clearly separated. We called these game fragments that may be considered systemic elements of the skills-specific rugby game process game cycles. Basically the game cycle includes the following two components.

Component 1 called the game moment implies the game as such within the frame of the net time of the game process, with the relevant key spatial, timing, qualitative and quantitative rates. The game moments may be classified as follows:

1. One-part game moments, with the ball held by one team during the whole moment; with the one-part moments further classified into simple and complex ones. Simple game moment implies a single technical action like penalty kick to out; kick on goal; free kick to out; and set scrum; and the complex game moment implies a few technical and tactical actions performed by the ball-holding team.

2. Two-part game moments when the ball-holding team loses the ball during the game moment and has to go back from attack to defence.

3. Three-part game moments when the ball-holding team loses the ball during the game moment and then takes back control of the ball.

4. Four-part game moments when the ball-holding team loses the ball during the game moment, then regains control of the ball, and loses it again due to own errors or counteractions of the opponents.

5. Five- and six-part part game moments are similar to the above four-part ones with the only difference that the teams lose and hold the ball a few times for the game moment, albeit such cases are actually very seldom in games.

Component 2 is referred to as the game setting interval that is free of practical competitive actions; with the teams lining out are required by the rules into ruck, maul, play-the-ball etc., i.e. the team game actions of an indirect effect on the competitive process.

Each of the game moments must be classified with consideration for the defence and attack actions, players’ locations on the field (with the relevant spatial specifications); timing of the relevant actions and the game moment as such (temporal specifications); numbers of competitive actions and their combinations [3, p. 53]; and their efficiency rates (qualitative and quantitative specifications) [2, p. 33].

We applied the above specifications and further analyses of the game cycles, their elements and contents to describe, in the most accurate and dependable manner, the skills-specific competitive performance using the relevant spatial, temporal, qualitative and quantitative rates.

Study results and discussion. Having analysed the study data, we found virtually no significant

differences in the counts of game cycles in the elite teams competing in the top-ranking events (2015 World Cup Finals and 2015-16 Rugby Championship: Р₁<0.05, see Table 1); although the game cycles were found to grow in the lower-ranking competitions of less skilled teams (including Russian Super League, Premier League and Federal League Championships: Р₂>0.05, see Table 1).

Table 1. Game cycles in the competitive events of different ranks (Х±m)

Note: р₁ – significance of the differences in the total game cycles in the top-ranking 2015 World Cup Finals and 2015-16 Rugby Championships; р₂ – significance of the differences in the total game cycles in the 2007 World Cup Finals and 2015/16 Russian Super League Championships; р₃ – significance of the differences in periods I and II in the top-ranking 2015 World Cup Finals; р₄ – significance of the differences in periods I and II in the top-ranking 2015-16 Rugby Championships; and р₅ – significance of the differences in periods I and II in the 2015/16 Russian Super League Championships.

The difference may be explained by the higher physical fitness levels of the elite and highly-skilled players capable of high-intensity competitive performance. Our study was designed to analyse the game cycles in the matches of differently skilled teams and in competitions of different ranks. We found dominance in the competitive performance profiles of the one-part simple and complex game moments that accounted for 66.6% to 73% of the game cycles depending on the skill levels; with variations mostly due to the game cycles with one-part game moments – both simple (30.95% to 35.42%) and complex (35.57% to 37.63% of the total) ones: see Table 2.

Table 2. Game cycles versus the game moments in the competitions of different ranks (Х, %)

Note: *game moments: Iп – one-part simple; I – one-part complex; II – two-part; III – three-part; IV – four-part; V – five-part;  and VI – six-part game moments.

Having analysed the competitive performance profiles of the elite/ highly-skilled athletes qualified with the national teams competing in the 2015 World Cup Finals and 2015/16 Rugby Championships, we failed to find any statistically significant differences in the numbers of game cycles in periods I and II, with р₃<0.05; р₄<0.05; р₅<0.05: see Table 1.

It should be noted that the share of the simple one-part game moments did not show a linear correlation with the team class or skill level. Ranked second by importance in the competitive performance profiles were the two-part game moments, with their share varying within the range of 19.4% to 20.8% of the total. Ranked third by importance in the competitive performance profiles were the three-part game moments, with their share varying (depending on the team class) within the range of 5% in the lower-skilled class to 8% in the higher-skilled class. Ranked fourth by importance in the competitive performance profiles were the four-part game moments, with their share varying within the range of 2% in the lower-skilled class to 3.4% in the higher-skilled class. The five- and six-part game moments were seldom recorded in competitions, with their shares varying within the range of 1.3% in the lower-skilled class to 0.7% in the higher-skilled class.

Conclusion. The study data and analyses demonstrated that the higher is the skill level and fitness the higher is the individual competitive success. Therefore, the individual competitive progress must be driven by the training system improvement efforts with due competitive performance rating and management system to ensure the training impacts being focused not only on the individual fitness components but also on their correlations – which have not been duly considered and factored in so far in fact.

References

1. Ivanov V.A. Integralnaya podgotovka v strukture trenirovochnogo protsessa kvalifitsirovannykh regbistov. Dis. kand. ped. nauk [Integrated training in training process design of skilled rugby players. PhD diss. abstract]. Moscow, 2004, 188 p.
2. Ivanov V.A. Soderzhanie tekhniko-takticheskikh priemov v sorevnovatelnoy deyatelnosti regbistov [Technical and tactical methods in competitive activity of rugby players]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2006, no. 4, pp. 32-34.
3. Ivanov V.A. Individualnye i komandnye tekhnicheskie deystviya v sorevnovatelnoy deyatelnosti sportsmenov spetsializiruyushchikhsya v regbi-yunion [Individual and team technical actions in competitive activity of athletes specializing in rugby union]. Mater. III Mezhdunar. nauch.-prakt. konf. "Nauka i innovatsii v XXI veke: aktualnye voprosy, otkrytiya i dostizheniya", Ch. 2 [Proc. III Internar. res.-pract. conf. "Science and Innovations in the 21st Century: Current Issues, Discoveries and Achievements", P. 2], Penza, April, 5 2017. Penza: Nauka i prosveschenie publ., 2017, pp. 51-54.
4. Zheleznyak Y.D., Nesterovskiy D.I., Ivanov V.A. Teoriya i metodika sportivnykh igr. Uchebnik dlya studentov vysshikh uchebnykh zavedeniy [Theory and methodology of sport games. Textbook for students of higher education institutions]. 8th ed., rev. Moscow: Akademiya publ., 2013, 464 p.
5. Hussein Sadjad Abdulamir Hussein, Ivanov V.A., Vyaltsev A.S. Kontrol za biomekhanicheskimi kharakteristikami v gandbole s primeneniem tekhnicheskih sredstv [Control of biomechanical characteristics in handball using technical tools]. Vestnik Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo oblastnogo universiteta. Seriya «Estestvennye nauki», 2016, no. 3, pp. 98-113.

Corresponding author: Ivanov65@inbox.ru

Abstract

The article considers some issues of importance for the competitive process design in the Rugby Union competitions. Based on analyses of the competitive records of rugby players versus their qualifications, the authors offered an isomorphic element of game process. The standard element includes a few constituents dominated by the “game moments” and “rearrangement intervals”. The elementary game constituents were classified based on the statistical analyses of the data indicative of the skill-specific competitive game designs for highly-skilled and elite rugby players.

The study data and analyses demonstrated that the higher is the skill level and fitness the higher is the individual competitive success. Therefore, the individual competitive progress must be driven by the training system improvement efforts with due competitive performance rating and management system to ensure the training impacts being focused not only on the individual fitness components but also on their correlations – which have not been duly considered and factored in so far in fact.