7-13 September - Brisbane, Australia 2000 |
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An analysis and comparison of the tries scored in the 1998 five nations championship and the 1998 tri-nations seriesD. Robinson* The process of professionalisation in rugby union has involved significant financial investment in the game. Consequently, the nature of elite rugby as a spectacle is of great interest to broadcasters and sponsors as well as the games administrators. As such, an important aspect of play that can be examined is the number and nature of tries scored by teams at the elite level. Eight games from the 1998 Five Nations Championship and all six games of the 1998 Tri-Nations series were analysed. From this data, the following information was calculated: · the number of tries scored and penalty goals attempted · the phase of play in which teams tries were scored · the time of the match in which a team tries were scored · the percentage of total points each team scored as tries The results of this study suggested that the most successful teams in the 1998 Five Nations Championship and Tri-Nations Series were those who scored the most tries and a higher percentage of total points as tries, perhaps indicative of an expansive playing style. However, in the Tri-Nations tournament, there were fewer tries scored per match and more penalty goal attempts and, in both competitions, a reliance on set play as the primary instrument for scoring tries. In light of the results of the 1999 Rugby World Cup, an analysis of the tries scored by teams in earlier Tri-Nations and Five Nations games might have predicted the style of play that would prove most successful in 1999. |
2000
Pre-Olympic Congress