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LOGINTesting a smaller ball for women's rugby
MARK HARRINGTON, chief player welfare and rugby services officer at World Rugby, explains the rationale behind trialling a size 4.5 ball in the female game.
World Rugby is constantly reviewing the game for all the stakeholders.
Last November, our ‘Shape of the Game’ meeting got all of the big hitters in the same room.
Union CEOs, team coaches, competition owners, referees and players were there at the meeting.
Over the course of two days, we discussed issues such as the current game-metrics and trends, medical and research issues and how to make the game more attractive to new audiences.
One clear theme from players, coaches and match officials was speeding up the game.
We can now see action taken on shot clocks, huddling at the lineout and the foul-play review bunker.
Developing the women’s game
We ran a similar exercise at our women’s high-performance meetings, attended by head coaches, high-performance managers, referees and competition managers.
"The group agreed a smaller size needed to be trialled. But that is easier said than done..."
One discussion area which emerged from this gathering was the enormous array of analytics now being produced from the game.
Player welfare was at the top of the agenda. We have long been keen to move into the instrumented-mouthguard space and for the women’s game to be flagbearers for the detail it can give us around contact load and match dynamics.
In the latest WXV international tournaments, all teams wore instrumented mouthguards. That will give us a massive data set. There are also analytics from all, bar one team, in last year’s Women’s World Cup.
We had a good discussion about ball size, and, collectively, the group agreed that a smaller size needed to be trialled. That, however, is easier said than done.
To put a different-sized ball into one competition, as a trial, means that players who play across more than one level will have to adjust.
For example, if it were trialled in the Allianz Premiership, any player who stepped up into their international team would be disadvantaged.
How to run a trial
In an ideal world, a trial would collect pre-intervention data and then compare it to post-intervention data.
In other words, you would run a competition with one size of ball and then re-run it with a different-sized ball.
Our limited trials have seen positive results, but it will be harder to roll it out into more significant competitions, like the French leagues or the Allianz Premiership, because of players who are in the international pathway.
The debate
There has been plenty of pushback on potential changes to the game.
We should remember that, at this stage, we are trialling the smaller ball, collecting data and then reviewing the advantages.
That said, in Spain, 95% of 113 players surveyed wanted to play with a smaller ball.
The data has also shown improved closed skills, such as throwing, kicking and catching. It also allows for more significant tactical choices, like throwing to the middle or back of the lineout.
The smaller ball affords more carrying options, allowing more passes out of contact.
There is also a welfare angle. A player who can manipulate the ball more effectively is more likely to be braced in contact.
Most injuries happen in the tackle, so there are upsides here. In Aussie Rules football, the move to a smaller ball allowed for easier fends and better falls, which reduced injuries.
The data from the rugby trial will also help us explore the effect on kicking. There is a relatively low success rate for goal-kicking, and you don’t see many 50:22s because of kicking length.
The other side of the argument is whether we should change the game’s equipment at all.
There have been noticeable improvements in the game and ball size is not a significant limiting factor.
However, we want to encourage more players into the game. If the trials of a smaller ball produce more passes and ball-in-play time, we feel it will continue to attract players.
KEY AREAS TO TRIAL
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