TY - JOUR
T1 - Referee positioning, but not match demands, score difference, or field location, are associated with breakdown decision-making accuracy in elite rugby sevens referees
AU - SantAnna, Ricardo T.
AU - Roberts, Simon P.
AU - Moore, Lee J.
AU - Stokes, Keith A.
N1 - Funding Information:
No funding was provided which contributed to the development of this manuscript. The authors would like to thank the referees who took part. Further, we would like to thank the Rugby Football Union for allowing access to referees, and STATSports for providing the GNSS units. Finally, the authors would like to thank Clare Daniels for her help during the preparation of the manuscript.
PY - 2021/12/31
Y1 - 2021/12/31
N2 - This study quantified rugby referees’ decision-making accuracy at the breakdown in an elite rugby sevens tournament, examining whether decision-making accuracy differed over time, and if it was associated with match demands, score difference, field location, and referee positioning. During the National Sevens Tournament (six referees, 22 matches), decision-making accuracy was analysed using video coding from 602 breakdowns and match demands were examined using GNSS technology and heart rate recordings. Overall, the referees had a decision-making accuracy of 88.2% with no changes over time (all p > 0.05). There were no significant associations between match demands, score difference, or field location and decision-making accuracy (all p > 0.05). However, significantly more incorrect decisions occurred when the referees were in a suboptimal position (29.0%) compared to an optimal position (10.9%) at the breakdown (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that referees’ decision-making accuracy during the breakdown remains relatively consistent across an elite rugby sevens tournament. While unaffected by match demands, score difference or field location, referees’ decision-making accuracy may be improved by optimising their positioning at the breakdown.
AB - This study quantified rugby referees’ decision-making accuracy at the breakdown in an elite rugby sevens tournament, examining whether decision-making accuracy differed over time, and if it was associated with match demands, score difference, field location, and referee positioning. During the National Sevens Tournament (six referees, 22 matches), decision-making accuracy was analysed using video coding from 602 breakdowns and match demands were examined using GNSS technology and heart rate recordings. Overall, the referees had a decision-making accuracy of 88.2% with no changes over time (all p > 0.05). There were no significant associations between match demands, score difference, or field location and decision-making accuracy (all p > 0.05). However, significantly more incorrect decisions occurred when the referees were in a suboptimal position (29.0%) compared to an optimal position (10.9%) at the breakdown (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that referees’ decision-making accuracy during the breakdown remains relatively consistent across an elite rugby sevens tournament. While unaffected by match demands, score difference or field location, referees’ decision-making accuracy may be improved by optimising their positioning at the breakdown.
KW - Global positioning technology
KW - heart rate
KW - match analysis
KW - perceptual-cognitive skills
KW - sport officials
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116102224&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/24748668.2021.1979824
DO - 10.1080/24748668.2021.1979824
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85116102224
SN - 1474-8185
VL - 21
SP - 1127
EP - 1139
JO - International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport
JF - International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport
IS - 6
ER -