Massey Documents by Type

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294

Browse

Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.Rugby football

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    "Looking forward to Saturday": a social history of rugby in a small New Zealand township : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts, Department of Sociology, Massey University
    (Massey University, 1986) De Jong, Piet
    This study examines the history of club rugby in Eltham up to the Second World War. It is based on the life-review accounts of a small number of elderly, ex-Eltham rugby players and backed by a study of club-records and newspaper accounts. The study was stimulated by events surrounding the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand and by a dissatisfaction with existing sociological attempts to examine the role of rugby in New Zealand society. Previous writers have too often uncritically celebrated the game, or succumbed to a number of recurrent theoretical and methodological shortcomings. "Cultural Studies" is introduced as a body of analytic theory and method with the potential to redress the limitations shown in existing writings on rugby. It directs the study of a sport to three critical emphases, all of which are evident in the current study. Firstly, the sport needs to be considered in terms of the social-structural context it exists in. In the present study a strong link is identified between the development of the general social infrastructure and the form adopted by local rugby. Secondly, we should approach sport as a significant dimension of local culture. Involvement in sport has significant effects on the way the people involved think about the world around them. In the present study rugby is discussed as a site where local men negotiated physical and mental responses to the class-characterised society they lived in. Rugby is addressed for the way it constructs and gives "common sense" meaning to ideologies like "egalitarianism", "community" and "moral asceticism". Finally, Cultural Studies promotes a sensitivity to the historical dynamism of sport in both its practice and meaning dimensions. In this respect, Ingham and Hardy's recent theory of "Ludic Structuration" is employed to identify three distinct stages in the development of Eltham rugby up to the Second World War. Overall, the study tends to discount the notion that "sport" and "politics" are clearly separated spheres. Rather, the notion of hegemony is used to explain how an ostensibly apolitical and enjoyable activity like rugby can, at the same time, be deeply implicated in the maintenance of existing patterns of power and privilege in our society.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Position specific differences in activity in club level sevens rugby players : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Sport & Exercise Science at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2005) Sutorius, Aimee
    The increase in popularity of seven-a-side rugby through the World Sevens Series has increased the need for training programmes to be developed specifically for the seven-a-side game. The aim of this thesis was to use time motion analysis to gather and compare data on match play variables in club sevens rugby, and interpret the results to construct effective guidelines for game-specific sevens rugby training. The first step in programme development was to identify the specific demands of sevens rugby, and then determine the best way for these demands to be replicated through training. Time motion analysis was used to identify the specific physiological demands of club-level game play. These demands included distances travelled, average speeds, the percentage of game time spent in different gaits and exercise intensities, and the number of activities and events performed per game half. The data were used to make comparisons between positional groups (forwards, backs, halfback), between game halves, and between pool and final games. There were no significant differences found between positional groups, game halves or game type, which implies that all players in sevens should train in the same way. The average distance covered per half was 0.77km, with 9% of the game spent in passive rest, 81% spent in active recovery and 10% spent in high-intensity running, equating to an average work to rest ratio of 1:9. Each player performed an average of 12 activities per half. Only half of the passes received resulted in a continuation of passing, the other half of balls received were either taken into a tackle or fumbled. The execution of activities at training should focus on maintaining possession of the ball at set plays and breakdowns, and using movement of the ball and players to create space to break through the defensive line and score a try. This can be achieved by working on game-specific skills, and may include executing these skills in a fatigued state to simulate the requirements of game play. Game-based fitness training should focus on the development of both aerobic power and anaerobic capacity, with special emphasis on the development of the lactate energy system through repeated-speed training. Work to rest ratios of 1:9 reflect club level game play, and are suggested as the standard for training at club level. To create overload and increase training response, smaller work to rest ratios (eg 1:3) may be used. Training which specifically focuses on the development of acceleration, top-end speed, agility, and strength should also be implemented as these attributes have been identified as critical components for successful sevens players. These results suggest that sevens rugby players require game-specific, rather than position-specific, training to promote maximal transfer to game performance.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Line detection and tracking in video recordings of rugby games : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2004) Huang, Xiao
    Video analysis has long been used in sports analysis. More and more coaches and instructors choose to use computer-based video analysis systems in decision-making and player training, which makes computer-aided sports analysis a fast growing industry. AnalySports Ltd is a New Zealand based sports analysis company providing performance analysis for sports, especially for team games such as rugby. Currently AnalySports uses human coders to manually track the activities and position of the ball carrier. This thesis is part of a player-tracking project. The overall aim of the wider project is to build a cost-effective system to semi-automatically track individual players' positions in video recordings of team sport games. To obtain the information on movement and tactics of the team as a whole, it is necessary to identify the position of each player on the field at every point of time during the game. To perform the tracking, wide-angle video recordings from rugby games are used as input data. As the camera is moving, it is necessary to find the mapping between the pixels in the image and positions in the rugby field for every video frame. To make the size of the task realistic for a one-year masters project, the work presented in this thesis focuses on finding formulae and parameters for this conversion. Analysis of the position data for player performance and game tactics is outside the scope of this thesis. The conversion between image coordinates and field positions can be established by- identifying the field characteristics. The positions of players in the field then can be calculated using this conversion once they are identified on the video frame. Based on single video frames, algorithms have been developed to detect and identify field characteristics (lines) in the frames of the video recordings. Using the identified field characteristics as reference, a transform matrix was calculated to convert pixels in the image to positions in the rugby field. For a sequence of video frames, algorithms have been developed to track the identified reference lines in order to save time and human power. These tasks were complicated by the zooming, tilting, and panning movements of the camera and therefore a potential of loss of reference lines, the noise in the data caused by field properties such as advertisement, the varying light conditions, the movements of the sun. or the shadows of the stadium roof. An application was developed to perform the developed algorithms. The testing shows that for about seventy percent of the video clips investigated, lines can be recognised and tracked. That means the application can be used to find the conversion for the majority of the video clips. Based on the testing performed, further development based on this project could be a refinement of the image recognition parameters, efficiency improvements and the development of the actual player recognition. This project was supported in part by a grant from the (New Zealand) Foundation for Research, Science, and Technology (FRST) and the Technology for Industry Fellowships (TIF) programme (contract number: ANLY0201).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Developing decision-making in rugby : a 152.786 (50 point) research report presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2006) Parrant, Darryl James
    The purpose of the study was to examine how fifteen-year-old rugby players' perceive their ability to make decisions in game situations, after participating in a seven-week decision-based training intervention. Data was collected from six players, pre, during, and post the intervention using semi-structured interviews. Two further training sessions were provided six weeks post intervention to review content and skills and determine player retention of learning; a final interview was then also conducted. Content analysis of the descriptive data involved identifying the main concepts and then categorising them into common themes using NVivo (N6), a qualitative software programme. Video analysis of the player's games (early, mid and end of season matches) as well as analysis of a post intervention interview with the facilitator allowed methodological triangulation. Comparison of the main themes from the findings enhanced the data's trustworthiness, reliability (dependability) and validity (credibility and transferability). The findings showed that all six players who participated in the study developed some perception and motor skills (such as: peripheral vision; attention strategies; spatial and tactical awareness; and motor skills), and tactical sport specific knowledge (such as: functional roles as ball carrier, support player, and defender; understanding ofdefence patterns and positional play) similar to that of an expert player. The findings also showed that better intra-communications among the players were critical in their ability to make informed decisions. These findings, as a result of the intervention, suggest that deliberate and purposeful decision-based training may add-value to player decision-making on the rugby field as the players' knowledge representation and game understanding have improved. However, the ability of players to execute and demonstrate transfer of skills from intervention to games, varied among the players. Further research is needed in tracking and monitoring individual players and their ability to make effective decisions from intervention to games and from season to season.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Why do administrators volunteer for provincial and club rugby in New Zealand? : an application of Clary et al.'s (1998) Volunteer functions inventory (VFI) to understand the motivations and commitment of volunteer administrators : a ... thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master's of Business Studies in Management at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2004) Dunlop, Amy Marie
    The primary aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) as a tool for measuring the motives of administration volunteers involved in provincial and club rugby in New Zealand. The secondary aim was to investigate the demographics, motives, benefits, satisfactions and intentions to continue to volunteer of participants. The study was conducted with a sample of 604 volunteer administrators from provincial and club rugby in New Zealand. Data was collected via a self-administered questionnaire that was posted to participants, and was then analysed using SPSS (version 12.0). Factor analysis indicated six functions that are served by volunteering for this sample and, these motives differ from those discovered by previous studies. In particular, a new motive, Cause, was revealed where an individual volunteers because of their passion for the particular cause they are involved with. This new function was the most important motive for volunteering for this sample. Volunteers were generally satisfied with their experience and intended to be volunteering in at least one years time. Multiple regression analysis indicated that individuals who volunteer for the Cause and Understanding motives, and, volunteers that felt the work they did was appreciated, were more likely to be satisfied with their experience. There were no substantial differences in the results between provincial level and club level volunteers. The paper concludes that further work is required to develop the VFI into a valid and reliable tool to measure the motives of volunteers for this population. In particular, investigation of the Cause motive, and development of the questions is required to enable the VFI to be more relevant to rugby in New Zealand.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    'Tour of the decade'? : New Zealand-South African rugby relations 1985-1986 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2000) Dennison, Scott
    Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, there existed worldwide pressure upon the South African Government to abolish its controversial policy of apartheid. Sporting boycotts, which excluded South African teams from the Olympic Games and other sporting events were imposed on the Republic so long as they pursued the practice of racial segregation between whites and non-whites. Such boycotts were seen as an effective way of forcing the leaders of South Africa's Afrikaner National Party to repeal its harsh apartheid laws. New Zealand's close sporting relations with South Africa throughout the apartheid period, with rugby union in particular, made the issue of sporting sanctions a sensitive subject for many New Zealanders. Many believed the result of sporting boycotts towards South Africa was the denial of an inherent right to play and watch one of the toughest sporting contests in the world - a rugby test between the New Zealand All Blacks and the South African Springboks. For decades New Zealanders and white South Africans have shared an obsession with the game of rugby union unmatched anywhere else in the world, perhaps with the exception of the fanatical Welsh rugby supporter. However, what is without doubt is the enmity between the two countries when their respective national teams meet on the rugby field. Since the first South African tour of New Zealand in 1921, test series between the All Blacks and Springboks have been tense, tightly fought contests. Until 1997, the home team had never been beaten in a series. It is for this reason that New Zealanders looked upon test matches against the Springboks as the ultimate challenge. Unfortunately, as will be discussed latter in this thesis, the visit by the 1981 Springboks to New Zealand caused severe social disruption and disaffection as the issue of race relations surpassed matters on the rugby field.