Rugby World Cup: why size matters
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- The Rugby World Cup saw heavier teams take to the pitch than ever before-England's players are on average over 10% heavier than in 1991. So what impact is the increasing size of players having on rugby? Find out more here: econ.st/2PJVoiS
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Isaac Newton’s second law of motion says force is equal to mass times acceleration. Which means if athletes want to put in the hard hits it helps to be fast, big and strong.
Collision sports have always been rough and tough but as they’ve become more professional players have become bigger and stronger which means their blows have become, well… But what impact is this having on collision sports?
When it comes to professional sports, winning is everything and in collision sports like American football and rugby marginal gains can come from having bigger and stronger athletes.
Twenty-eight years ago the average weight of the 1991 World Cup England squad was 94.8kg. In 2019 it’s 105.9kg - That’s more than a 10% increase.
How have rugby players got so big? In 1995 rugby union went from an amateur sport to professional. Media moguls, like Rupert Murdoch, threw money at broadcast rights and the sport was to change for ever. Players had to go from the everyman to superman adopting strict fitness regimes, training schedules and diet plans all to maximise their potential. Bigger players can get tired more easily but a rule change, allowing more substitutions, meant players no longer needed to last a full game. The result has been a super breed of player. Just take a look at Jeremy Guscott in 1995 compared with his equivalent, Manu Tuilagi, in 2019.
But since professionalism there have also been changes in rugby injuries and experts think this may be caused by players with a higher body mass. Between 1996 and 2000 immediately after the game went professional the rate of injuries among elite Australian players increased by 57%. At Bath University researchers have been recording rugby-injury data since 2002. They found the rate of injuries hasn’t actually increased since then but the nature of the injuries has.
The research team have also found that the rate of concussions among players has increased since 2011 and now there is an average of around one incident of concussion per match. The detection of concussion has improved dramatically and this might be one of the reasons why there’s been an increase in concussion. Of course the other thing is that the game has changed and things like an increase in the speed of the game, the amount of time when the ball is in play, and therefore the number of tackles and the size of those collisions may also play a role.
It’s not just rugby. American football has been rocked by reports that an increasing number of retired NFL players who have suffered concussions have developed memory and cognitive issues. A study of deceased NFL players found that 99% of them had a degenerative brain disease believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head. The NFL has faced a series of lawsuits from former players who suffered head trauma and were demanding compensation. They reached an extremely expensive settlement and to a certain extent, they’ve learned a lesson from that or been forced to.
In an effort to reduce concussions, the NFL banned helmet-to-helmet hits punishing them with a penalty and sometimes even by suspending the player. Across other collision sports, there have been changes around concussion detection and prevention. These include substitutions for head injuries while a player is assessed by a doctor off the pitch.
And in the 2019 Rugby World Cup new rules around high tackles were brought in which officials say have led to a 35% reduction in the rate of concussion.
The impact of the new breed of bigger players goes much further than what happens on the pitch. Behind the scenes, it’s affecting the laws of the game and the players’ safety. As the supermen of collision sports become ever more powerful balancing their welfare will become the biggest challenge.
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The Economist: Size matters
South Africa: Hold my faf
Yup and Cheslin Kolbe 👏
Bullsheetlatin Speaker cheslin weighs 86kg at his height. He’s small and nippy but is still built and will spend a lot of time in the gym. Same goes for Faf. Not to mention the size of the SA pack, England isn’t unique in building their players strength. The fact SA won today is completely irrelevant to the approach to fitness. England hammered the all blacks and prevented them playing their game, despite the fact the all blacks prefer mobility to strength as seen in the super rugby play style. SA played well on the day, England couldn’t play their game, that’s the end of it.
@@kiwikiwi7375 I think he weighs 74 actually, according to rwc stats
Which is very light actually
shameeg johnson Klerk is around 84-88 ball park according to a few results. Kolbe has peaked at around 80
HAHAHAHAGAHAHA
*LAUGHS IN SOUTH AFRICAN*
@Tom G why the fuck are you here?
South African isn't a language,
Just saying
@@tumidhlamini9011 ja, but stillll. I think this time we can forget about singeling out one of the 11 and just celebrate as a unit :)) whooooohooooo!!!
@@tumidhlamini9011 You can hear the accent though....
@@chris5240 could you please elaborate on that
Hey Economist, I got four words for you: Kolbe and de Klerk
But they are actually pretty heavy, proving the Economist's point. In fact, Faf de Klerk weighs more than Jeremy Guscott did.
#FACTS
Indeed they are great players, but it’s the biggest and strongest forwards in the world who secure good ball for them.
@@ragamuffin98 its true. But Cheslin and Faf have showen that size doesnt matter. They have tackel and taken balls away from much much bigger guys. Its thr hart of the player that counts alot.
francois beyers Cheslin is pretty small. De Clerk isn’t. He is just short and hella stocky.
The economist: why size matters
Faf de klerk: I'm about to end this man's career
Cheslin kolbe: hold my beer
Faf:Uhm there's a reason they call me the giant slayer
RWC FINAL:
Springbok Scrum = 900KG,
England Scrum = 920KG
Surprising, Springbok Scrum smashes England ???
Biltong and Braaivleis > Fish and Chips
Technique matters you git
@@enochalifasi6719 I can see you weren't at school on the day they discussed the term 'sarcasm', but on the bright side, your limited vocabulary is quite charming in a boorish kind of way.
Pellican Pants don’t disguise your stupidity as sarcasm.
Tafadzwa Alifasi A bit rich coming from you don’t you think?
faf de klerk: am i a joke to you?
He's no joke, a honey badger in the rugby world.
Shane Williams feels left out
Cheslin Kolbe.(full stop)
yes Indeed!
2 player in the World Cup final are small guys. Out of 46. Most will be over 100 kgs, quoting one player small player means nothing in general trends.
@@alanb9443 yet both of the smallest players are the stars
alan B thank you
Ezra Buckman Colbe is a winger, he could only perform at his size on the wing, as his stop start acceleration is incredible. You put him in the centres he’d get hammered at his weight.
*Coughs in Cheslin Kolbe*
Size will never matter in rugby the size of the heart that's what matter , Kolbe just showed us today 2019 world champions. ..
moenier benjamin it will in the forwards for sure
Of course size matters. Kolbe eg would never get the ball if his forwards couldn’t win it for his team in The first place! Size without heart and courage is less effective, of course, but size does matter. Lomu would not have been as destructive if he was Kolbe’s size. Itoje would not be as effective if he was 1.8m. Sinclair would not be as effective if he was 76kgs. Tuilagi is more effective at his weight than if he was 5-8kgs lighter.
If size didn’t matter many players would not spend hours in the gym bulking up and adding Kgs.
You’re thinking rugby league where all players are pretty much the same size. Rugby it’s all about size. Not going to be a great lock at 1.7m.
@@fidget2020 The English pavk weighed more than the South African pack to be fair
Kolbe: hold my beer
Faf: hold my beer
And our biltong
@@roryblake3232 😂😂
And my bells
Cheslin Kolbe begs to differ 👀
That is the reason why South Africa win this world cup.
South Africa are the world champions 💪🏻💪🏻, lets talk about 3 bAby.🎊
Well... This Seems To Be Aging Well Isn't It? Much Love From Mapimpi, Faf & Kolbe! SOUTH AFRICAAAAAAA!!!!!!!
Onikx
Mapimpi is huge bro
@@OfficialInathiRSA Korea mtakwethu compared to the others, he looks like he is built like the average guy. But I could be wrong, I do wear spectacles 😂
@@HerewardWake I liked your comment bro, it's all love, love you too man. Even with my bitterness, it's all love, no malice at all man, I'm patriotic, don't think there's anything wrong with that, I think anyone would see that🤷🏾♂️ but I guess I was wrong wasn't I? But it's all love really, hope you had a blessed Sunday and pray you have an awesome and super productive week ahead God willing and Godspeed.
@@HerewardWake I'm not those people bro, I have nothing against patriots man, you're allowed to love your country🤷🏾♂️. The game was good and we were all entertained, like I said, no malice man, just banter is all.
@@HerewardWake U mad bro?
*Cheslin Kolbe has entered chat*
*Owen Farrell has left the chat*
You get a like for including University of the Western Cape footage in the uDubs all they way👍👍👍👍
Always nice to see South Africans early in the comments. Let's hope we can make those english bois see some umlilo tomorrow
Faf and Kolbe: You couldn't be more wrong
Economist: size matters
Beer: faf my hold
no
Nobody told faf
tell that to Aaron smith, TJ Perenara et al. etc......that is why i love rugby....small players still have positions that they can play.
Perenara is 6ft what are you on.
That's why they play scrum half, not prop, hooker, lock, flank, senter. . .
Typically your openside, scrum half and maybe one wing is smaller than the rest.
Not to mention George Smith, Steffon Armitage and Heinrich Brussow
@@toniocartonio572 George and Armitage is over 100kg, and brussow is close to it. By no means small
That’s why ‘size matters’ doesn’t say being bigger helps, just outlines that size is important which it is, whether you’re big or small
Ever heard of cheslin kolbe or faf de klerk. Cheslin kolbe weighing just 80 kg scored a try in finals where big huge English guys didn't even score 1 try.
Kolbe & Dr Klerk have a world cup without those size requirements...truly talented and dedicated!...ok'salayo sine World Cup with those 'tiny' ninjas
No one:
Absolutely no one:
The Economist with no rugby knowledge: Size does matter.
It fucking does look at combat sports.
People comment and make fun of the economist for choosing a sensationalistic title without even watching the doco. What is being dealt with is how size is related with trauma and injuries, not how size makes a player better or not.
I really don't get what's the point of the video and why they have Rugby World Cup Final in the title when they didn't mention it once
Views but also because a lot of people commented about the size of the England players vs nz, pretty obvious they were conditioned very well and the players looked much bigger than the nz players who are typically quite big
search engine, that is why
Office full of women and LGBTQ... "Yeah... let's do a thing about rugby".....
Most probably the most uninformed media channel 😅
Its no coincidence that injuries have risen since Rugby turned professional but this is also due to the fact that the players know that if they do get injured, they are on a contract and insured and will also recieve medical and physiotherapy assistance. That was never the case before hand, so players tend to make harder hits due to the evolution of sports science.
De Klerk, Kolbe, A Smith, Fukuoka, Matsushima, S Williams an many more: HOLD MY BEER
Aged like milk
Ardie Savea is probably the smallest forward but he’s probably one of the hardest to stop
@Lopel small for a number 8. Forwards are supposed to be the biggest and the most powerful players on the field. Savea is kinda big to the average joe but small on the rugby pitch.
Size of heart over size of ego.
Completely agree.
Well done Bokke
Rugby is a game for all sizes, but we gotta admit that size gives you an advantage.
size and technique. Just like basketball.
Kolbe stepped around a bigger around him so size does matter if you want to sit and watch the boks win the trophy
@@HerewardWake okay buddy
That's why kolbe tackled the big guys at this world cup.....he has quick feet😂😂😂😂😂
@@HerewardWake jokes on you buddy he did. Kolbe has a 88% tackle success rate in the WC. And he played against the best wings around
@@HerewardWake i dont recall him missing a tackle for the past 10 games
@@HerewardWake let him who hasnt missed a cast the first stone
The so-called "Laws" of the game, or rather the interpretation of them by referees are much at fault for the many ills of the game. I played for 19 years and never say a concussion happen...only heard of one and that to a fellow who had had 6 prior in motorcycle racing. The lack of what used to be a ruck or maul, those changes brought about by tackled players no longer having to release the ball "immediately" without attempt to play it, has meant that the defense with the exception of the jackal have little to do......So they spread out the field and there's no space to run to, so the required bigger players, who aren't required to release the ball immediately upon being tackled, now bash through. How does one bash through a defense of big players, by being bigger oneself. How does one stop a bigger player from bashing through your defense, out big him or create a massive collision into before he can get up a head of steam. The phase in coaching is now "win the collision".....
Every year for the past 12 years I have read and re-read the "laws" thinking I must have lost the ability to comprehend English, my native tongue. I note that among other things, the ball must be "placed or released immediately by a tackled player" and yet I count up to 9 seconds of a struggle for the ball with a jackle....Had the ball been released there'd not have been a struggle. The jackel is open game for a high collision clear out....his hands are in front of him and his ribs exposed. The Laws state that a player joining the ruck must be bound up to the armpit to a player on is team or the other already part of the ruck....that simply doesn't happen, its a shoulder charge into the jackel. I can go on about this stuff, like the penaties for making the opposition collapse the scrum, or at least break it up......Was that the purpose of the scrum? That used to be "QED dangerous play"......These and other matters like these require the larger players who need substitution in a shorter time game. Fitness and skill used to be prime qualities. Not so much any longer.
finally someone with an educated comment, nothing to add here! but, getting bloody penalised out of the game for losing at scrum time?? it's not a bloody offence to lose the scrum!! or to even have your scrum dominated!! what next getting penalised for losing the lineout!! and trust me I was going for South Africa but those rulings baffled me
Shane Williams has left the chat
Why use imperial and metric together, smh
Size matters because rugby is all about the D.....
Defence.
😂
Rugby is an 80 minute game, although it is highly physical the game is evolving and getting more technical.
I believe size should be less of a priority in the modern game. Being from Wales where rugby is pretty much religious having played at various levels of rugby myself I have seen and played with so many naturally gifted rugby players (players who seem to quality that is unique and stands out consistently) but seem to get swept under the matt at age grade level because of size or growth pattern. A friend of mine mentioned a coach from a regional development coach said "we can teach skill, we can't teach size". I find this attitude rather arrogant and a bit 'anti rugby'.
For rugby as a spectator sport we should be wanting to see more tries, faster paced rugby, more entertainment! What would rugby be without the little man?
Player health and safety is another factor, if players are lighter the impact has less change of injury, there are so many players who's weight negatively affected they're careers... Leigh halfpenny for example, to be 5'10" and 14st is unhealthy, and it would have only reduced halfpenny's speed, agility and stamina. But this is the addiction to size, even if it suppresses the potential of the players.
South Africas forward pack was lighter than Englands forwards, yet they absolutely murdered them in the scrums and rucks.
Cheslin Kolbe is 80kg (I'm a 90kg school boy winger) and he absolutely bounces out of tackles against the biggest guys
The "statistics" shown here are very specific and chosen to tell a story. The truth is rugby has become vastly safer due to regulations such as the evolution of the scrum (google a 20th century scrum - I beg you) and compulsory concussion tests.
But, *it wouldn't be sensational if the story wasn't negative.* Thanks Economist.
Faf just left the chat!
They need to wear soft pads and focus on tackling technique
Also players are allowed to run around other players.
Like Cheslin does.
Size can't tackle something that isn't there.
Next from The Economist why basket ball players are tall cutting edge stuff here if your brain dead
Faf de klerk, cheslin kolbe and Aaron Smith: 😂😂🖕🏼🖕🏼
Cheslin Kolbe just made this entire video redundant. Great content.
But have you seen how physically big he is. And his weight.
And faf de klerk
This isn’t taking about height. It’s talking about weight
I'd say that while rugby players getting bigger is pretty much worldwide nowhere is it more pronounced than England because England has a lot of money for rugby
The Southern Hemisphere countries which are almost always superior rugby countries haven't changed so much -NZ and South Africa are small economies and rugby is a small sport in Australia - so there just aren't a lot of well paid rugby jobs available and these tend to go to the naturally big
its not about the size of the dog in the fight its about the size of the fight in the dog
I am on my high school wrestling and I can tell y'all SIZE REALLY MATTERS. When I wrestle 220's or 210's it's a lot especially for someone who is 170 like me.
Eric Ford that’s wrestling not rugby
@@MPA083 Same thing applies to all contact sports.
6 minutes without mentioning doping : woooow that’s information at its best, thank you the Economist. These sports are plagued by the generalized doping, which is monitored by ....... the rugby federations, such a joke. Very few and sporadic controls. And the Southern Hemisphere is worst than Europe.
How do you think one can gain 10 kg of muscles ? Go to your local butcher and ask for 10 kg of meat and you will see how unrealistic it is to imagine that this can be gained easily.
More injuries, well maybe because articulations and ligaments do not grow under steroids as muscles do, so they break when the muscle mass is disproportionately big. And helmets are a disaster because players feel safe and take more risks. American football should ban all these would be protections.
This situation is the result of the cynism of the management of these sports, only interested in making the game more spectacular, as a kind of superhero show, in order to sell TV rights at a higher price, to the detriment of the health of athletes who accept this because they turn greedy.
Professional sport became much more entertainment than sport.
I was going to leave a comment about Faf, then I realized half the comments are about him. lol
Has this youtube channel seen Cheslin Kolbe😂
Cheslin Kolbe: NO
Watch the weight of the teams in the 2019 World Cup and watch him who won.
You are an idiot. 20kg is a massive difference in the scrum
Dillyn Lakey how strong they are individually makes a bigger difference in the scrum
The Economist must have never heard of Faf De Klerk aka the best scrum-half in the world😉
the economist should stick to what they know clearly they know a little about the game
Very interesting article. It's good to see rugby & NFL making an effort to try and reduce these injuries.
Very few teams have the giants or the physicality of the Springboks that being said de Klerk and Colbe just shot your theory to hell.
Rugby magazine headline 2019: Why are interest rates negative
There are many other scientific variables when tackling. Centre of gravity, center of mass, technique and muscle/bone characteristics are important, not just mass and acceleration. Also some positions are less about being effective about in collisions and more about adding skills. Im a South African, so even though we have faf and kolbe, I would be remiss to ignore how much our size ,mass and strength has helped us win the trophy
England in the scrum 920 kg
South Africa 900kg yet S.A pushed them over 😂😂
they great thing about rugby is there is a place in the team for all body types (except, of course weedy pigeon economists)..
England lost!!!! Hahahahaha sucked in.
Cheslin Kolbe: *visibly confused*
Force is equal to mass times acceleration therefore faster smaller players should not underestimated
Shutup!!! We got Kolbe playing in the world cup 🇿🇦
The english pack was bigger than the south african, they still got rolled!
The English measurement system. I weigh 115 kilograms and am 6 foot 3 inches and on the way here I bought 10 liters of petrol and drove 145 miles. How confusing is that?
While South Africa has a giant slayer
kilograms? really nice.
@Ÿamada Amen
Big Jonah knew how to deal with the poms!
Well, there's only one solution to injuries in rugby and football: use robots/drones/IA.
Newtons second law also states that size doesnt matter, if you have acceleration ;)
who else thought of Faf de Klerk from the title
I think if you don't know this already you might have a concussion...
Size matters? Tell that to Cheslin Kolbe, who will be World Player of the Year in a few weeks
PSTD
size does matter
SA pack 20kg lighter
denis murray only the starting pack once kitshoff and marx comes on its about on par Francios louw also is heavier than kolisi by about 8 kg
@@deand503 didn't matter sa fooked them up in scrums may actually prove their point to some extent. But Sa big mother's 🤣
Jay-Jay Grobler Yeah they never even looked like they could score their lucky the score was not 39-12 probably could have scored another try by the rate we were setting up phases
@@deand503 truth
50% Faf de Klerk
50% Cheslin Kolbe
100% Webb Elliss
Being 6 foot 3 and only weighing 86 kgs it can be hard playing rugby sometimes but with my pace I enjoy 7’s and hopefully I can get up 90 kg soon.
Tweak the rules, save the players. Set max weights per player. Adjust penalties for thinks like american football. Have a penalty box like in hockey for serious ones. I think the penalty box has the potential to make a lot of sports a heck of a lot more fun to watch.
Just less substitutes
And oh boy, did it matter. Bokke🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦
Rugby is dope regardless
not really. Sure a lot of unions still push bigger players but we're seeing a shift especially in test rugby. Steve Hansen has been placing Ardie Savea at looseforward for most of this year and Rassie selecting Kwagga Smith a few times even though they are smaller than the avarage looseforward.
The key problem in all of this is what happens after a player gets an injury - They play on. Regardless of if it’s a small knock, or a slight tear in a ligament, or if they’re in pain, the players continue to play on and this makes the injury worse. When a player has a big injury and can’t play for a certain amount of time, it seems like it was caused due to a big impact, for example they tore a ligament in their knee in a maul, but actually, it was because their injury got worse and worse as time went on and whatever the injury was just became too much for the body to continue playing on. Why do players do this? They do this because sports waits for no one. If your replacement has a great game, and continues to play great, even better than you whilst you’re in recovery, when you’re fit and ready you’ll come back to a position that’s not there for you anymore. Players withhold injuries from the medical staff because they know that if they put their hand up and say “I have an injury”, they’ll be on the bench, which is where no one wants to be. So this video is right, but if players were honest about their injuries and didn’t keep it a secret, the rate of injuries would be much lower. Much lower than what they are now, even with all the precautions they take
I'm 5kgs above the average shame its all fat... 😂
Rugby is a contact sport size does matter.
Tell that to Faf
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
laughs in south african
Yourl need biltong
It is sad that you guys are already making up lame videos and excuses to why England got thrashed. Robinson (Eng) Russell (SA) (Kolbe) Gregan (Aus) Faf (SA) WILL ALL DISAGREE!!! Is this already the start of the we will win the next wc on size consolation prize speech, only place size matters is up front.
I'm in u10 and I'm the smallest in the team and I'm one of the best tackelers on the team so get proved wrong and I tackel people that r the biggest on the pitch
I wonder if Shane Williams, Jason Robinson, Faf de Klerk, Cheslin Kolbe and Matteo Minozzi are among the 140 people who dislike this video... 🤔
See, you say that, but the team with the two smallest players in World Rugby, beat you. With one of them (Kolbe) scoring. Need I mention Faf De Klerk who once pushed Vunipola back with his tackle.
They are literally picking the most extreme contrasts. Tuilagi is fucking huge even for now. Why not compare Guscott to Gary ringrose or Willie John McBride to Courtney Lawes?
Maybe they are talking about American football. In Rugby, you can be a midget and still be effective on the pitch. I played Rugby while I was only 65Kg and 5’8.
Rugby has always been a mix between brute force and innovative skill. The relative share of each skill in the international game will always ebb and flow but there will always be room for both in the game. The proof is in the world cup winning hug shared between Eben Etzebeth and Cheslin Kolbe.
The Economist are right to highlight the increasing average size of players, the increasing severity of injury and the increasing prevalence of concussion, but the skill set in the average forward's locker has also been revolutionised. Just look at English prop Dan Cole's interview for Rising Sons where he describes changing from a player who didn't touch the ball and only scrummed to someone capable of (occasionally) throwing one handed switch passes.
which has increased is weight not height. Or ask any scrumhalf in the world (not to mention the best rugby players in the world are less than 176 cm Dupont, De Klerk, Kolbe)
Rugby players need a longer off season, NFL players are bigger and faster but at least get six months off. Not that it helps CTE, but they mostly reduced full contact practices which is where about half of concussions took place.
Lets talk about the Boks all coming from Africa !!!!!!! We rock we don't import
this must be ackward af now
How can you not mention that virtually all pro’s are taking PED / steroids?! Sports science only takes you so far - the collision injuries are a by product of the gym culture.