Visual skills essential for rugby

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dc.contributor.authorMillard, Lourens
dc.contributor.authorBurger, Teriza
dc.contributor.authorNortje, Joel
dc.contributor.authorSchulz, Jessica
dc.contributor.authorBreukelman, Gerrit
dc.coverage.conferenceissn
dc.date.accessioned2025-12-03T07:11:25Z
dc.date.available2025-12-03T07:11:25Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.departmentNameHuman Movement Science
dc.description.abstractBackground: Keen vision is one of the most important qualities required of athletes. It enables players to perform sports-related drills and apply decision-making skills. To accurately measure the visual ability of athletes, it is important to first identify the variety of visual skills involved in the particular sport. The objectives of this novel review are to identify the most important visual skills required for rugby, and to create a reference point for further studies to include visual skills essential to rugby players. Methods: We conducted an electronic search with various combinations of relevant keywords using the following databases: Sport Discuss, Ovid’s Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews, PubMed/MEDLINE, Current Contents, Science Direct, the National Research Council’s Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Google Scholar, and international electronic catalogues to assess the scientific literature related to the visual skills required for rugby. Only the records published in English were included. We extracted data on the relationship between vision and match performance, the defined problem or purpose of the study, and the inclusion of theoretical definitions of tactical behaviors. Results: Our search yielded 80 records, 51 of which fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The most important visual skills in rugby are classified based on whether they meet the requirements for visual hardware or visual software skills. Visual hardware skills include visual acuity, depth perception, fusion flexibility, and contrast sensitivity; visual software skills include eye tracking, hand-eye coordination, eye focusing, peripheral vision, speed and span of recognition, visual response time, and visual memory. Conclusions: Rugby players must use both visual hardware and software skills to reliably observe their teammates’ positions, understand their opponents’ actions and tactics, handle the ball, analyze the immediate circumstances, and anticipate what will occur. Further studies are needed to verify the significance of each visual skill in actual competition to determine a relationship between vision and the results of a championship.
dc.facultyFaculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering
dc.format.preprintNo
dc.identifier.citationMillard, L., Breukelman, G.J., Burger, T., Nortje, J. and Schulz, J., 2023. Visual skills essential for rugby. Medical Hypothesis, Discovery and Innovation in Ophthalmology, 12(1), pp.46-54.
dc.identifier.issn2322-3219 (online)
dc.identifier.issn2322-4436 (print)
dc.identifier.otherhttps://doi.org/10.51329/mehdiophthal1469
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10530/58470
dc.inproceedingsissn
dc.issuenumber12 / 1
dc.keynoteissn
dc.language.isoen
dc.pages46 - 54
dc.peerreviewedYes
dc.publisherInternational Virtual Ophthalmic Research Center
dc.subjectVision test
dc.subjectSport
dc.subjectAthletic performances
dc.subjectSport medicine
dc.subjectVisual feedback
dc.subjectMotor skill
dc.subjectSensory feedback
dc.subjectLeague play rugby
dc.subjectSensory processing
dc.subjectOptometrist
dc.subjectOphthalmologist
dc.titleVisual skills essential for rugby
dc.title.journalMedical Hypothesis, Discovery, and Innovation in Ophthalmology
dc.typeJournal Article
dspace.entity.typePublication
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relation.isAuthorOfPublication67e2a8b0-bc85-4756-97a4-1e7fb5ff7d9c
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery0d0473b2-6885-4652-99b9-e24104c99ec2
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