The trade-off between distance and accuracy in the rugby union place kick

Abstract

Little attention has been given to the rotational kinematics of the rugby union place kicking performance, especially in a field setting. The place kick is a means to score points. By maximizing the distance and accuracy a kicker is able to achieve increases the number of point scoring opportunities available to a team. The hypothesis of this study was that there is a relationship between distance and accuracy and the rotational kinematics of place kicking performance of rugby players in the field setting. Twelve first-team university rugby players had their full body kinematics measured for five place kicks. Kick distance and accuracy were directly measured. The current study showed a positive correlation between torso (r=.76) and pelvis (r=.66) rotation with kick distance. Place kick distance (r=.24) or accuracy (r=.54) were not correlated to playing experience. Negative correlations between stance elbow flexion (r=-.78), torso rotation (r=-.74) and X-factor (r=-.79) with kick accuracy were noted. Place kick distance could potentially be maximized by improving torso and pelvic rotations. Place kick accuracy could be improved by full extension of the stance arm. The data suggests that larger torso rotations may promote kicking distance; however, they impede kicking accuracy.

The Effect of Power, Balance and Coordination on Dropkick Conversion Kicking Skills on Rugby 7's Women Athletes Dki Jakarta

“…The game of rugby is a sport that The game of rugby sports has several techniques, namely throwing the ball, dropping and kicking. Kicking is a complex biomechanical action that requires controlled and intricate coordination between lower body segments, both temporally and spatially (Green et al, 2016). How to kick the ball according to (Internasional Rugby Bord, 2013) a kick is made by hitting the ball with any part of the leg the leg or foot, except the heel, from the toe to the knee but not including the knee, a kick must move the ball a visible distance out of the hand, or along the ground.…”

Assessing rugby place kick performance from initial ball flight kinematics: development, validation and application of a new measure

“…Given the crucial role of place kicking, it is important for sport biomechanists to understand how successful kicks are achieved. Previous biomechanical studies have analysed kicking leg kinematics during the downswing (Sinclair et al, 2014;Sinclair et al, 2017;Zhang, Liu & Xie, 2012), variability in kicking foot movement at ball contact (Ford & Sayers, 2015), approach to the ball and support foot placement (Baktash, Hy, Muir, Walton & Zhang, 2009;Ball, Talbert & Taylor, 2013;Green, Kerr, Olivier, Dafkin & McKinon, 2016;Cockcroft & van den Heever, 2015), whole-body orientation at ball contact (Ball et al, 2013;Green, Kerr, Olivier, Dafkin & McKinon, 2016) or motion of the non-kicking-side arm (Bezodis, Trewartha, Wilson & Irwin, 2007), and have often attempted to relate these aspects of technique to performance outcome. The majority of these studies were laboratory-based, meaning the full flight path of the ball could not be tracked.…”

“…However, a sufficiently high ball velocity magnitude is not the complete performance requirement as the ball must pass between two posts (5.6 m apart) and above a crossbar (3.0 m above the ground). Whilst the lateral position of the ball relative to the target line has also been used as an additional performance measure (Bezodis et al, 2007;Green et al, 2016), a single value incorporating the distance and accuracy requirements in to a representative measure of how far any given kick could be taken from and be successful is needed if place kicking performance is to be appropriately assessed in laboratory studies.…”

Kicking foot swing planes and support leg kinematics in rugby place kicking: Differences between accurate and inaccurate kickers

“…Other studies have focussed on specific aspects of kickers’ techniques which might influence the ball launch characteristics, such as the approach towards the ball and support foot positioning (Baktash, Hy, Muir, Walton, & Zhang, 2009; Cockcroft & van den Heever, 2016; Padulo, Granatelli, Ruscello, & D'Ottavio, 2013), kicking leg joint kinematics (Ball, Talbert, & Taylor, 2013; Sinclair et al., 2014; 2017; Zhang, Liu, & Xie, 2012) and trunk and arm motions (Ball et al., 2013; Bezodis, Trewartha, Wilson, & Irwin, 2007; Green, Kerr, Olivier, Dafkin, & McKinon, 2016). In some instances, the above variables were compared between kicks with a primary focus on either distance or accuracy (Bezodis et al., 2007; Sinclair et al., 2017), or distance and accuracy were treated as separate dependent variables against which specific aspects of technique were related (Green et al., 2016). Furthermore, whilst some of the aforementioned studies have reported the magnitude of the kicking foot velocity at initial ball contact, and many of the variables they have described will partly contribute to the kicking foot trajectory, none have directly investigated the path of the kicking foot – the distal endpoint of a linked‐segment system – prior to ball contact.…”

“…Previous research has therefore investigated rugby place kick ball launch characteristics using a combination of empirical and theoretical methods (Atack et al., 2018; Holmes, Jones, Harland, & Petzing, 2006; Linthorne & Stokes, 2014; Seo, Kobayashi, & Murakami, 2006), and with mechanical simulators (Minnaar & van den Heever, 2015). Other studies have focussed on specific aspects of kickers’ techniques which might influence the ball launch characteristics, such as the approach towards the ball and support foot positioning (Baktash, Hy, Muir, Walton, & Zhang, 2009; Cockcroft & van den Heever, 2016; Padulo, Granatelli, Ruscello, & D'Ottavio, 2013), kicking leg joint kinematics (Ball, Talbert, & Taylor, 2013; Sinclair et al., 2014; 2017; Zhang, Liu, & Xie, 2012) and trunk and arm motions (Ball et al., 2013; Bezodis, Trewartha, Wilson, & Irwin, 2007; Green, Kerr, Olivier, Dafkin, & McKinon, 2016). In some instances, the above variables were compared between kicks with a primary focus on either distance or accuracy (Bezodis et al., 2007; Sinclair et al., 2017), or distance and accuracy were treated as separate dependent variables against which specific aspects of technique were related (Green et al., 2016).…”