Talent Identification and Relative Age Effects in English Male Rugby Union Pathways

From Entry to Expertise

Bibliographic Data

ID5285211
AuthorsAdam L Kelly (0000-0003-4929-1067), Kevin Till (0000-0002-9686-0536), Daniel T Jackson (0000-0003-2253-7880), Daniel Jackson (0000-0002-8833-9476), Donald Barrell (0000-0001-9174-1418), Kate Burke, Jennifer Turnnidge (0000-0001-5055-9361)
Year2021
Volume3
Pages640607-640607
Publication date2021-02-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Sports and Active Living (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2624-9367 • E-ISSN: 2624-9367
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fspor.2021.640607
PMID33681762
OpenAlexW3131182687
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited49

A common practice in youth rugby union is to group players based on (bi)annual age with fixed cut-off dates. The overrepresentation of players born at the start of the cut-off date and the underrepresentation of players born toward the end of the cut-off date are termed relative age effects (RAEs). The aim of this study was to examine RAEs during entry into professional and international rugby union pathways in England, as well as comparing them to their respective senior cohort: U15 Regional Academy Player (n = 1,114) vs. Senior Professional Player (n = 281) and U16-23 England Academy Player (n = 849) vs. Senior International Player (n = 48). Chi-square (χ2) analysis compared birth quarter (BQ) distributions against expected distributions. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals compared the likelihood of a BQ being selected. Findings revealed a significant overrepresentation of relatively older players compared with their relatively younger peers within both youth cohorts (P < 0.001; BQ1 = 42.5% vs. BQ4 = 9.6%; BQ1 = 36.5% vs. BQ4 = 15.2%). In comparison, there was no significant difference in the BQ distributions within both senior cohorts. Further, BQ4s were 3.86 and 3.9 times more likely to achieve senior professional and international levels than BQ1s and BQ2s, respectively. It is suggested that relatively younger players may have a greater likelihood of achieving expertise following entry into a rugby union talent pathway due to benefitting from more competitive play against relatively older counterparts during their development (e.g., reversal effects; the underdog hypothesis). Moreover, possible solutions (e.g., age and anthropometric banding; playing-up and playing-down) are discussed to encourage practitioners and policy makers to create the most appropriate learning environment for every player

Football · Geography · Odds · Odds ratio · Quarter (Canadian coin · Sociology · Medicine · Psychology · Sport Psychology and Performance · Sports injuries and prevention · Sports Performance and Training · Demography · Internal Medicine

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