PARIS - Rugby fans who say the modern game is being dominated more and more by heftier players and pumped iron can point to scientific evidence to back their case.
Teams with the tallest backs and heaviest forwards are the likeliest to win the World Cup, according to a study by French researchers published on Tuesday.
Adrien Sedeaud of the Institute of Sports Biomedicine and Epidemiology in Paris collected data for the age, weight and height for 2692 players who took part in World Cup matches between 1987 and 2007, and compared this with their team's performance.
The players were divided into 1457 forwards (numbers one to eight) and 1235 backs (nine to 15).
Throughout the 20-year period under study, the weight of all players progressively increased by more than 6.6kg. In height, forwards were 0.6cm taller over 20 years, and backs 1.09cm. But the difference was startling among the teams that reached the quarters, semis and finals. On average, forwards and backs among these high-performing sides were some 2kg than the other teams. Their backs were taller by around 2cm, although there was little height difference among forwards. Bigger did not mean fatter, though. A more intense training regime and rigorous nutritional regime led to more muscle, for speed and strength, over the two decades.
The change to bigness began with the advent of professionalism in 1995, which created a more high-intensity sport with more rucks, mauls and tackles per game among its forwards, says the paper.
Yet the more mobile game has also required greater endurance and speed among its backs, it says.
The 2011 Cup, which is not covered in the study, had a final with two teams that were almost identical in terms of pack weight. France's forwards weighed 903kg and New Zealand's 902kg. New Zealand edged France 8-7.
Teams with biggest players will rule Cup - study
PARIS - Rugby fans who say the modern game is being dominated more and more by heftier players and pumped iron can point to scientific evidence to back their case.
Teams with the tallest backs and heaviest forwards are the likeliest to win the World Cup, according to a study by French researchers published on Tuesday.
Adrien Sedeaud of the Institute of Sports Biomedicine and Epidemiology in Paris collected data for the age, weight and height for 2692 players who took part in World Cup matches between 1987 and 2007, and compared this with their team's performance.
The players were divided into 1457 forwards (numbers one to eight) and 1235 backs (nine to 15).
Throughout the 20-year period under study, the weight of all players progressively increased by more than 6.6kg. In height, forwards were 0.6cm taller over 20 years, and backs 1.09cm. But the difference was startling among the teams that reached the quarters, semis and finals. On average, forwards and backs among these high-performing sides were some 2kg than the other teams. Their backs were taller by around 2cm, although there was little height difference among forwards. Bigger did not mean fatter, though. A more intense training regime and rigorous nutritional regime led to more muscle, for speed and strength, over the two decades.
The change to bigness began with the advent of professionalism in 1995, which created a more high-intensity sport with more rucks, mauls and tackles per game among its forwards, says the paper.
Yet the more mobile game has also required greater endurance and speed among its backs, it says.
The 2011 Cup, which is not covered in the study, had a final with two teams that were almost identical in terms of pack weight. France's forwards weighed 903kg and New Zealand's 902kg. New Zealand edged France 8-7.
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