The coaches of the eight quarter-finalists in last year’s World Cup had at least one thing in common: they started playing before the game had turned professional, a time when observation and gut feeling influenced decisions rather than data.
Head coaches and directors of rugby breaking into top division clubs are now of an age when they have known only professionalism. Products of a very different system, emphasis is now placed on statistics and technology, to the detriment of players and the game itself according to a new study by Andrew Manley and Shaun Williams of the University of Bath.
Written by Paul Rees
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jan/09/the-breakdown-rugby-union-numbers-game under the title “The Breakdown | Is rugby union losing its way by becoming a numbers game?”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
