A comparison of talented south african and english youth rugby players with reference to game-specific-, anthropometric-, physical and motor variables

Abstract

Research on talent identification in youth rugby is still unexploited. The aim of this study is a comparision of talented South African and English youth rugby players (18-year old) with reference to game-specific-, anthropometric- and physical and motor variables. Three groups of elite rugby players were selected from the two countries and were tested on 13 anthropometric-, six physical and motor- and eight game-specific tests. The results showed that there are no big differences as far as anthropometric variables are concerned, the English players, however, significantly demonstrated the worst results in all the physical and motor abilities while the South African players performed the best in game-specific skills due to possible better coaching.

South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation Vol. 28(1) 2006: 101-107