E-Portfolio Example Task 1

Task 1 – Initial observation and analysis

Introduction
My clients name is Declan and he’s 15 years old. Declan plays flanker (no.6) for his for schools U19s
rugby union side and has been playing rugby since he started secondary school. For this E-Portfolio I
will analyse Declan’s performance in rugby union and produce a development plan to help him
improve.

Physical Goal (Research)

A motor skill is the physical completion of a movement that forms the basis of the sport, (Bbc.co.uk,
2018). The the fundamental motor skills in rugby are: handling, carrying, passing, receiving, beating
opponents, try scoring, tackling, rucking and mauling (R​ugbyHow, 2019). I​nitial observations involved
match analysis, resulting in tackling being identified as Declan’s main area of development where he
received a level 3 on the OCR success criteria (appendix 1). This is because his standard of tackling
were not consistently performed with accuracy, control and fluency. These observations were further
supported by Declan in the coach/client interview where he noted tackling as something he’d like to
improve on in order to strengthen his game. Declan often gets pushed backwards when attempting to
tackle resulting in the opposition breaking through the line. He only made five successful tackles and
also gave away three penalties across the observation match for high tackles. The ability to tackle is
essential in rugby, especially, for a flanker as they are required to make as many as 25 tackles in an
80 minute game of rugby (Howard, 2019). ​To pinpoint the errors in Declans tackling technique I will
use video analysis to illustrate strengths, weaknesses and areas for development within the following
phases of movement; preparation, execution and follow through.

When researching the ​biomechanics ​of tackling, the shoulder tackle is the most common tackle used
in rugby union (Litchfield, 2019). Also it is recommended that the tackler should be trying to hit the ball
carrier from the side rather than front on ​(Anon, 2019)​. This is because the ball carrier will have all
their momentum going in the direction that they are running and little to no momentum going
sideways. If the tackler attempts to tackle the ball carrier front on they will have to overcome a greater
force as they will have to stop the ball carriers forward momentum before they can knock the ball
carrier over (Blazevich, 2013). Therefore, I will be focusing on the shoulder tackling from the side on
angle for the development plan. I will analyse the following phases: preparation (A), execution (B) and
the follow through (C).

​Preparation Phase​ ​Execution Phase​ ​ ​The Follow Through Phase

Preparation Phase
It is important in the preparation phase to have good stability and momentum before making contact.
Stability can be increased by adopting ‘The Tower of Power’ body position which involves the tackler
crouching down and leaning forward (​40°​) ​before making contact (Blazevich, 2013). This is done by
putting your hips, spine and shoulder in a straight line. Couple that with a strong core to keep them
aligned as you make contact (Anon, 2019). The tackler should maintain ​“Eye to thigh” which basically
means they have to look at the target (thigh) they want their shoulder to hit (Bbc.co.uk, 2018). ​The
tacklers feet should be shoulder width apart to ensure to base of support is stable and less likely to be
knocked over by the ball carrier. By crouching the tackler is lowering their ​centre of gravity ​towards
their base of support which will also aids in stability. By leaning forward the tackler is putting their
centre of gravity out in the front of their base of support which will mean they will require less force to
overcome their own ​inertia ​when they go to make contact with the ball carrier (Blazevich, 2013).
During this time the tackler shouldn’t stop, they will need to keep moving so as to minimize the loss of
the momentum they built during their running phase. It is important that the tackler doesn’t start this
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phase until they are no more than a couple of meters away from the ball carrier to prevent loss of
momentum (Litchfield, 2019).

​Benchmark - Preparation Phase (left)​ ​Client - Preparation Phase (right)

The picture abov​e shows my client in the preparation phase. Declan’s main strength is that he’s
aligned himself to the side of the attacker so that he can make contact with his shoulder. This also
gives Declans enough time to react to the attackers movements in order to make a successful
shoulder tackle (Anon, 2019). However, there are clear differences between Declan’s body position
and the benchmarks that negatively affect Declan performance. The benchmark performer has
adopted the ‘Tower of Power ‘ body position and is crouching and leaning forward at 40​°. ​Whereas,
Declan is upright (50°) meaning that his centre of gravity behind the base of support meaning that he
is more likely to be pushed backwards in the tackle ​(Litchfield, 2019)​.

Execution Phase
When the tackler makes contact they should be aiming to hit the ball carrier with their shoulder first in
a pushing motion and then wrapping their arms around the ball carrier’s legs ​(Anon, 2019). ​This
movement is known as the ‘Band of steel’ where the tackler wraps their arms tightly around the ball
carrier’s legs so they are unable to run (Bbc.co.uk, 2018). The tackler must keep their head out to the
side for safety reasons. The best position for the head is cheek to cheek where the tackler gets their
head in tight to ball carrier’s backside (Bbc.co.uk, 2018). The tackler should dig their feet into the
ground in order to increase the amount of force they are applying to the ground so that through
Newton's 3​rd law ​an equal and opposite force will be applied to the tacklers feet allowing them to
apply a greater force to the ball carrier (Blazevich, 2013).

​Benchmark - Execution Phase (left)​ ​ lient - Execution Phase (left)

C

The picture abov​e shows my client in the execution phase. Declan’s main strengths is that he is able
to generate force by digging his feet into the ground during contact in order to apply more force
(Blazevich, 2013). However, again there are many differences between Declan’s and the benchmark
performance. By not adopting the correct body position in the preparation phase, Declan has made
contact around the ball carriers neck. This is not only illegal, resulting in a penalty to the opposition
but the ball carrier will also be able to continue running reducing the likelihood of a successful tackle.

The Follow Through Phase

Once contact has been made the tackler must extend all their joints (ankle, knees, and hips)
simultaneously to produce a greater force ​(Litchfield, ​2019). The body should be held almost
horizontally to halt the ball carrier’s forward momentum, while still being at enough of an angle to
maintain contact with the ground (Anon, 2019). This will help utilise ​Newton's 3rd law of equal and
opposite reactions as the tackler is more likely to overcome the ball carriers ​inertia ​and successfully
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complete the tackle (Blazevich, 2013). ​The tackler should try to squeeze the ball carriers legs together
to minimizes their base of support, decreasing their stability, making it easier to knock them off
balance (Anon, 2019). This will limit the ball carrier's ability to run as their feet are trapped by the
tackler and won’t be able to move (Bbc.co.uk, 2018).

​Benchmark - Follow Through Phase (left)​ ​Client - Follow Through Phase (left)

The picture abov​e shows my client in the follow through phase. It’s hard to find any strengths when
analysing Declan’s performance in this phase. Declan is almost upright and has made contact around
the neck which when completed at speed is dangerous for both the tackler and the ball carrier.
Declan’s current form makes it a lot harder to halt the ball carrier’s forward momentum makes it more
likely for the ball carrier to free themselves from the tacklers grip (Blazevich, 2013).

In summary, after analysing Declan’s performance in tackling he has shown some strengths which are
highlighted above. Moving forward his areas of development are across all phases and are largely
down to not adopting the ‘Tower of Power’ position in the preparation phase. Declan is currently rated
as a level 3 (OCR Criteria) and as his coach I will work to address these weaknesses.

Health Goal (Research)

The five health components of physical fitness are: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength​,
muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition ​(BBC Bitesize, 2018)​. When analysing Declans
strengths and weaknesses of physical fitness, I used the fitness test below to assess each heath
component of fitness. This was so I could easily identify which areas of Declan’s fitness needed to
improve the most. Declan's’ results are shown in the table below: I researched the normative data
(appendix 2), for a 15 to 16-year-old male ​(Ww5.topendsport.com, 2018)​. This enabled me to
compare my performance against national average which highlighted my strengths (highlighted in
green) and weaknesses (highlighted in red).

Fitness Tests Components of Fitness Results Comparison to Normative Data

Multi stage fitness test Cardiovascular
Stage 9.9 Excellent
endurance
Wall Sit Test​ (legs) 75 secs Above average
Sit Ups Test​ (core) Muscular endurance 35 sit ups Excellent
Press Up Test​ (upper body) 29 press ups Above average
1RM Bench Press Test​ (upper
70KG Average
body)
Muscular Strength
7-Stage Abdominal Strength​ (core) Level 6 Excellent
1RM Deadlift​ (legs) 90KG Average
Sit and Reach Flexibility 36.9cm Below average
Yuhasz Skinfold Test Body Composition 35 Excellent
The table below aims to define each health component of fitness (CoF) and identify which most
supports the biomechanic of Declan’s physical goal (tackling).

Health CoF Relevance to my clients’ physical goal

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Muscular strength ​refers to the amount of force a muscle (muscle group) can produce with a single
maximal effort (Mackenzie, 2018).

Upper body strength - ​In the tackle you’ll need enough arm strength to hold onto the ball carrier. But
beyond that, arms aren’t that critical to the tackle. They’re more important for ripping, lifting,
scrummaging and clearing players out of the ruck. But for the tackle, they are secondary to legs and core
Muscular (Litchfield, ​2019).
strength
Core strength - ​Having a strong core is essential for ‘T​he Tower of Power’ body position ​(Anon, 2019).
Upper Body Core strength allows the hips, spine and shoulder to stay aligned as you make contact so that you can
Core transfer the power from the ground into the hit.
Lower Body
Lower body strength - ​The biggest muscles are in your legs and backside. As previously mentioned the
tackler uses ​newton’s 3​rd law when they push their foot down against the ground (Blazevich, 2013). The
ground then exerts an equal and opposite force back onto their foot allowing the tackler to move towards
the ball carrier with greater force.

Therefore, research suggests that improving both leg and core strength support the physical goal​.
Cardiovascular endurance is the heart's ability to deliver blood to working muscles and their ability to
use it ​(BBC Bitesize, 2018)​.

Cardiovascular Having a plentiful supply of oxygen in the explosive muscles is important to ensure they are working
endurance efficiently (irishrugby.ie, 2019). Furthermore, Gabbett, 2016 suggests that insufficient oxygen uptake can
reduce tackling ability. However, we’re assessing Declan’s tackling ability from ​non-fatigued state so
designing a development plan that’s aimed to improve his ​cardiovascular endurance does not support
the physical goal.
Muscular endurance​ is the ability of a muscle (or group of muscles) to sustain repeated contractions
against a resistance for an extended period of time (BBC Bitesize, 2018)​.

Muscular Upper body strength -

Endurance
Core strength -
Upper Body
Core Lower body strength -
Lower Body Muscular endurance enables players to cover the field of play quickly and perform repeated activities that
require strength, such as tackling (Sportsrec.com, 2018). However​, the tackle itself does not last for a
long period of time and therefore improving muscular endurance in the upper body, core and lower body
does not support the physical goal.
Flexibility​ is the range of motion in a joint or group of joints or the ability to move joints effectively
through a complete range of motion (Mackenzie, 2018).

To be effective in tackling, you need to be mobile in your ankles, hips, spine and shoulders ​(Performance
Flexibility Ground, 2019)​. Having good flexibility helps maintain essential body positions in the tackle such as the
‘Tower of Power’. Flexibility also helps reduce injury in the tackle as it affords a greater range of
movement around the joints (BBC Bitesize, 2018). Lastly, increased flexibility reduces the amount of
energy spent and improves the control and fluency of the tackle (Anon, 2018). Therefore, research
suggests that improving flexibility does support the physical goal.
Body composition is the proportion of fat and fat-free mass in your body. All fitness components
depend on body composition to some extent (BBC Bitesize, 2018)​.

Having a higher proportion of body fat can be advantageous in the tackle as in accordance to ​Newton’s
Body
2nd law as you’ll be able to apply more force. However, muscular strength is more desirable to ensure a
Composition
successful a tackle resulting in the modern day player favouring a lean muscle mass (Team, 2019)​.
Therefore, reducing your ​percentage body fat and instead getting leaner and stronger ​does support the
physical goal.

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After researching the health component of fitness (CoF), Declan and I ranked them in order of most
relevance to his physical goal (appendix 3). Muscular strength, specifically in the legs and core were
identified as the CoF that would best support the biomechanics of tackling. As Declan already achieve
excellent for core strength and research highlighted that muscular strength in the arms was not
essential ​in the tackle, this training programme will only focus on muscular strength in the legs.

Statement of inquiry
As a coach, I have given myself six sessions to improve Declan's physical and health goals. I’ll be
able to measure his improvements by getting him to perform an initial benchmark test to measure his
current performance in muscular strength for the lower body and tackling (OCR success criteria).
We’ll then repeat the same test post training. The statement of inquiry for this research project is
‘Using our surroundings can offer opportunities to develop personal competencies’​. This asks
the question, can we improve our performance using only ourselves and the natural environment?
The statement of inquiry explores social inclusion and the concept of leveling the playing fields.
Inclusion happens when these barriers and challenges are removed. In doing so everybody has a fair
opportunity to participate (Anon, 2018). My client lives in East Africa where equality is often
overlooked. The average citizen does not have the same resources or supports as my client does.
Declan has access to some of the best facilities, equipment and coaches which are clearly barriers for
others when participating in rugby.

Therefore, when designing this training programme we must consider the context alongside Declan’s
physical and health goals. ​Therefore, Declan’s development plan will not require ​expensive machines
and equipment and instead use only the body, natural environment and surroundings as training tools.
removing the barriers of access and cost attempts to support true inclusion for all. Therefore, this
paper supports the statement of inquiry, by stating that Declan can develop his tackling ability and
muscular strength in his legs by using only himself and the natural environment.

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Bibliography

1. BBC Bitesize. (2018). ​BBC Bitesize - GCSE Physical Education - Goal setting - OCR -
Revision 1.​ [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zq4gk7h/revision/1
[Accessed 2 Sep. 2018].
2. BBC Bitesize. (2018). ​BBC Bitesize - GCSE Physical Education - Health, fitness and exercise
- Edexcel - Revision 2​. [online] Available at:
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zxd4wxs/revision/2 [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].
3. Ww5.topendsport.com. (2018). ​topendsport.com.​ [online] Available at:
http://ww5.topendsport.com/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].
4. Mackenzie, B. (2018). ​BrianMac Sports Coach​. [online] Brianmac.co.uk. Available at:
https://www.brianmac.co.uk/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].
5. Science for Sport. (2018). ​1RM Testing | Science for Sport​. [online] Available at:
https://www.scienceforsport.com/1rm-testing/ [Accessed 24 Oct. 2018].
6. Team, T. (2018). ​How to build the stamina of a SuperRugby flanker​. [online] Ruck Science.
Available at: https://ruckscience.com/learn/stamina-rugby-flanker/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].
7. Sportsrec.com. (2018). [online] Available at:
https://www.sportsrec.com/255856-the-importance-of-muscular-endurance-in-rugby.html
[Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].
8. Johnpryorrugby.com. (2018). ​Strength’s Importance in Rugby | Rugby and More.​ [online]
Available at: http://johnpryorrugby.com/strengths-importance-in-rugby/ [Accessed 30 Oct.
2018].
9. Anon, (2018). [online] Available at: https://movelikeapro.co.uk/blog/benefits-flexibility
[Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].
10. Team, T. (2018). ​Should I cut, bulk or maintain mass for rugby?.​ [online] Ruck Science.
Available at: https://ruckscience.com/learn/should-i-cut-bulk-or-maintain-mass-for-rugby/
[Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].
11. RugbyHow. (2019). ​Rugby core skills and qualities - rugby skills to concentrate on.​ [online]
Available at: https://www.rugbyhow.com/rugby-core-skills.html [Accessed 5 Jan. 2019].
12. Howard, T. (2019). ​How strength and power impact tackling ability​. [online] Ruck Science.
Available at: https://ruckscience.com/learn/rugby-tackling-ability/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2019].
13. Rugby Coach Weekly. (2019). ​How low should you go? Tackle techniques and activities |
Rugby Coach Weekly​. [online] Available at:
https://www.rugbycoachweekly.net/rugby-drills-and-skills/low-go-tackle-techniques-activities/
[Accessed 5 Jan. 2019].
14. Litchfield, C. (2019). ​Biomechanics and Rugby​. [online]
Biomechanicsofarugbytackle.blogspot.com. Available at:
http://biomechanicsofarugbytackle.blogspot.com/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2019].
15. irishrugby.ie. (2019). ​Irish Rugby​. [online] Available at:
http://www.irishrugby.ie/playingthegame/fitness/general/to_endurance_train_or_not.php
[Accessed 6 Jan. 2019].
16. Gabbett, T. (2016). Influence of Fatigue on Tackling Ability in Rugby League Players: Role of
Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Aerobic Qualities. ​PLOS ONE,​ 11(10), p.e0163161.
17. Performance Ground. (2019). ​3 Exercises To Improve Your Rugby Tackle | Performance
Ground​. [online] Available at: https://trainwithpg.com/3-exercises-improve-rugby-tackle/
[Accessed 6 Jan. 2019].

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Appendix 1 - OCR success criteria

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Appendix 2 - Normative Data

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Deadlift

7-Stage Abdominal Strength Test

Appendix 3 - Ranking Components of Fitness

Relevance
Health
to physical Health Component of Fitness Fitness Test Rating
Goal
goal
1RM Bench Press Test (Arms) Below Average
1. Strength 7-Stage Abdominal Strength (Core) Excellent Yes
1RM Deadlift (Legs) Average
2. Flexibility Sit and Reach Average Yes
3. Body Composition Yuhasz Skinfold Test Excellent No
Wall Sit Test (Leg) Above Average
4. Muscular Endurance Sit Ups Test (Core) Excellent No
Press Up Test (Upper Body) Average
5. Cardiovascular endurance Multi stage fitness test Excellent No