The importance of rugby game-related statistics to discriminate winners and losers at the elite level competitions in close and balanced games

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to identify the Rugby game-related statistics that discriminated between winning and losing teams in International Rugby Board (IRB) competitions (World Cup and Six Nations) and Super Twelve Tournament (S12) in close and balanced games. A cluster analysis was conducted to establish, according to game balanced games group was selected for further analysis. An analysis of the structure coefficients (SC) obtained through a discriminant analysis allowed the identification of the most powerful game-related statistics in discriminating between winning and losing teams. The results showed that when compared, IRB and S12 close and balanced games were evident, although significant between-games differences were found for all of the analysed group clusters. This suggests that for close and balanced games a general profile may be created, which is probably specific to each team, and may indicate the strengths and weaknesses of that specific competition groups.