The effect of the law changes on time variables of the South African Currie Cup Tournament during 2007 and 2013

In rugby union, several law changes were introduced between 2007 and 2013, yet the impact of these changes have not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the law changes on the time intervals and contact profile of the South African Currie Cup Tournament during the 2007 and 2013 seasons. The frequencies of 15 performance indicators were used for the aim of this study. The time interval profiles revealed that the total match time and total stoppage time increased significantly (p < 0.01), while the total ball in play time decreased significantly (p < 0.01). The individual phase activity also indicated a significant decrease p < 0.01). The contact profile revealed that the total tackle time increased significantly (p < 0.01), while the total ruck/maul-, scrum-and line-out-times decreased significantly (p < 0.01). The study revealed that the profile of the South African game has become more continuous, with total time spent at rucks/mauls and between subsequent rucks decreasing. The findings of this study can assist coaches and trainers with information to re-create match situations during training in order to improve performance during match play.