Hot topic: Rugby World Cup 2007

The top 20 rugby teams in the world come together in October with the hope of winning the Webb Ellis Cup – and with it the title of world champions. This TKI Hot Topic looks at New Zealand's build-up to the Rugby World Cup, and the role of science and technology in preparing the teams to put their best boots forward on the field.

The 2007 Rugby World Cup is the sixth Rugby World Cup. This international Rugby Union championship started in 1987.The tournament is one of the largest international sporting competitions in the world.

Twenty nations are competing for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament which is being hosted by France, 7 September – 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003, beating a bid from England. There are 48 matches over 44 days in the competition. Forty-two matches are being played in ten cities throughout France, as well as four in Cardiff, Wales and two in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Teams from most rugby-playing nations have been taking part in the qualification stages since September 2004 to find the 12 nations who will reach the finals in 2007, along with the eight quarter-finalists from 2003. The title of world champions is currently held by England, who won the 2003 tournament held in Australia.

The competition opened on 7 September at the Stade de France in St. Denis, which will also be the venue of the final match on 20 October.

William Webb Ellis Cup

The winners will be awarded the William Webb Ellis Cup. This trophy is named after the man considered to be the founder of the game.

The All Blacks

The All Blacks are seeded number one in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. New Zealanders will be hoping that they can win the Webb Ellis Cup as they did in the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987. Since 1987, New Zealand has been third, second, and fourth in successive World Cups. After winning the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri Nations series in August, New Zealand's hopes are running high for this year's World Cup. It will be the best prepared and selected team to leave the country for a world cup.

Coach Graham Henry told the media after the team's arrival that he was satisfied with the preparations and was not concerned about the lack of match play compared with many other sides. What was left was to "put the icing" on the preparation now.

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw said: "It's been a long build-up. That's gone well, but I guess the next two months are what it is all about now."

McCaw said the 30-strong squad was attempting to offload the pressures of a nation desperate for World Cup success after a 20-year drought, by focusing on personal performances.

"You have to put the weight of expectation aside a little bit and just do the job well, that's the way you have to look at it.

"From my personal point of view, I'm going up to enjoy playing in what will be a special two months at the World Cup," he said.

The evolution of the modern game

Science and technology are becoming increasingly important in the world of professional rugby. The last 20 years have seen a number of changes to the style of rugby: from forward-domination feeding free-flowing back play; the kicking game with a strong emphasis on foward-play and defence; to today's more free-flowing game with an emphasis on speed and mobility. The popularity of the free-flowing style of rugby was strongly reflected in the 1992 decision to award five points for a try, instead of the traditional four. This move rewarded running rugby, rather than the kicking battles where scores were mostly made up of three-point penalties. The professional era has also meant a longer rubgy season and an increase in the number of games. Advances in sports nutrition and training regimes have been essential to prepare players for the demands of the modern rugby environment.

Whereas players in the forward pack were traditionally very bulky and heavy and backline players more slight, the physiques of today's All Blacks are becoming more standard – with forwards needing to be fast and mobile, and backs able to make solid tackles. The 2007 All Blacks have a training programme that will incorporate aerobic fitness (eg running), anaerobic fitness (eg sprint work), strength and power training (eg weight training, plyometrics), and flexibility (stretching) in addition to ball-skills, tackling, and positional play. They will also have a nutrition plan that will make sure they are eating the best fuel to help them perform, incorporating fruit and vegetables (for minerals and nutrients), water and electrolytes (for rehydration), grains and cereals (carbohydrates for energy), and protein (for muscle building and repair).

Sports training and nutrition are constantly evolving sciences with more and more research being carried out into how to make the human mind and body perform at their peak. It may be interesting to use some of the sites listed below to look at pictures of players from different eras of rugby. You may wish to compare their physiques, and write the training and nutrition plans you think they might have followed.

Fabric and design technology

Advances have also been made to the clothing and equipment today's players wear and use.

The demands of the professional era have necessitated changes to the design of rugby boots, for example, they need to be lighter, more comfortable, and breathable to cope with today's more mobile players. Different styles of boot are also made to suit the specific needs of forwards, backs, and the kicker. There have also been advances in fabric technology, as seen in the All Black's tighter-fitting, grab-resistant jerseys – a slippery new material designed to stop opponents slowing a player down by grabbing their jersey.

The popularity of night games for spectators has also meant that more rugby is being played in the evening. At night, the air temperature is usually colder than it is during day-time games, and dew often settles on the field, making the ball and the grass slippery. Different types of fabric ensure that the players' uniforms keep them warm, and some players have taken to wearing special gloves to improve their grip on the ball. These gloves were first used as part of the Otago Highlanders' uniform in the 2003 Super 12 competition.

Why not design some rugby apparel and equipment yourself? What would be the different benefits of your designs?

Back to Top

Resources on TKI

General

Haka
The haka is a part of both All Black tradition and legend. This web page is from the Haka New Zealand Rugby site based on the book Haka! The Dance of a Noble People. It contains information about the haka, its styles and history, and a brief description of how it relates to rubgy. Listen to the All Blacks performing a haka and read a translation of the words to Ka mate.
www.haka.co.nz/haka.php

International Rugby – Rugby World Cup 2007
This is the official site of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Read about the teams, keep up to date with the results, and test your rugby knowledge with interactive games.
www.rwc2007.irb.com

New Zealand Rugby Union
Catch up with the latest news on New Zealand rugby – the All Blacks, Super 12, and NPC.
www.nzrugby.co.nz

Nutrition and training

Enhancing Performance
This assessment material (Word 52KB) relates to research on the links between science and technology used in the treatment of sports injuries and enhanced performance of sportspeople.
www.tki.org.nz/r/ncea/bio1_2Yv2_30jan02.doc

Safety in Sports – Food Technology
This assessment material (Word 104KB) relates to technology achievement standard 2.1. Develop and model a conceptual design for a safe food product that helps "post event recovery" of the body for water sports participants.
www.tki.org.nz/r/ncea/tech2_1Dv1_27june01.doc

Sports and Nutrition – The Winning Connection
This University of Illinois extension programme provides information on dietary planning, nutrition requirements, and fluid requirements for sports performers.
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/hsnut/index.html

Winter Olympics: Sport and Science
Although this website focuses on Winter Olympic sports, it has detailed information on sports nutrition, physics and biomechanics, and physiology and psychology. Find out how to fuel the machine!
http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/default.htm

Fabric and equipment

BBC – Technology – Things we wear
Students can use this interactive website to look at a fabric under microscope, decide the best fabric for different purposes, match clothes to weather conditions, and find out where materials come from.
www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/as/tech/index.shtml

Design a sipper bottle
Players have to keep hydrated, even when they are on the field. They need to be able to get fluid quickly, and don't have time to find their own individual drink bottle. However, they need to avoid the risks that come with sharing drink bottles (eg meningitis and hepatitis). Can you design and produce a scale model of a sipper bottle that would be ideal for the All Blacks? Adapt this assessment material (Word 74KB) to fit the World Cup theme.
www.tki.org.nz/r/ncea/graph2_5A_10apr01.doc

Testing a soccer ball
Adapt this fair testing activity from Assessment Resource Banks to test a rugby ball, instead of a soccer ball. Students are provided with information and data on different makes of soccer balls. Students answer questions on fair testing, and write conclusions from the given data.
http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/resources/science/physical/4000/pw4096.htm

Which material?
Which fabric would be best for making certain clothing items? This Assessment Resource Banks web page features a multichoice section with prompts for students to give a full explanation for each of their selections.
http://arb.nzcer.org.nz//resources/science/material/5000/mw5678.htm