| Position of line-breaker: |
Position of ball-carrier who breached the line |
| Position of inside defender: |
Position of the opposing player, on the side of the line-breaker closest to the starting position of the phase, as he breaches the defensive line |
| Outside Defender: |
Position of the opposing player, on the side of the line-breaker furthest from the starting position of the phase, as he breaches the defensive line |
| Tight Forwards |
Prop, Hooker, Lock |
| Loose Forwards |
Flank, Eighthman |
| Inside backs |
Scrumhalf, Flyhalf, Inside Centre |
| Outside backs |
Outside Centre, Winger, Fullback |
| Touchline |
Vertical outline on each side of field |
| Attacking line shape: |
The formation of the attacking team at the start of the phase preceding the line break (Wheeler et al. 2010) |
| Flat |
Attacking players were positioned in a horizontal line |
| Deep |
Attacking players were positioned in a diagonal line |
| Wide |
Attacking line is spread across the width of the field |
| Narrow |
Attacking line is bunched, close to the break-down |
| Defensive speed: |
Speed of the defence in response to the attacking line, when the first ball-carrier in the final phase receives possession of the ball (Hendricks et al. 2013) |
| Slow |
Stationary or walking (No locomotor movement). Slow forwards, backwards or sideward movement. One foot in contact with ground at all times and no arm drive |
| Moderate |
Jogging or a slow run with low knee lifts and little arm drive |
| Fast |
Running with high knees and rapid arm movement or sprinting at ball reception |
| Defensive distance: |
Distance of defence in relation to the attacker who receives the ball from the breakdown/set-piece/kick (Wheeler et al. 2010; Hendricks et al. 2013) |
| Close |
Attacker receives ball within one body length of defence |
| Moderate |
Attacker receives ball one to two body lengths from defence |
| Distant |
Attacker receives ball more than two body length from defence |
| Attacker vs. Defender ratio: |
The ratio of the number of players in the attacking line compared to the defence line at the start of the phase (Hendricks et al. 2013) |
| Man on man |
Same number of defenders and attackers |
| One man overlap |
One more attacker in the attacking line compared to the defensive line |
| Two man overlap |
Two more attackers in the attacking line
compared to the defensive line |
| Multiple overlap |
More than two attackers in the attacking
line compared to the defensive line |
| One man underlap |
One more defender in the attacking line compared to the defending line |
| Two man underlap |
Two more attackers in the attacking line compared to the defending line |
| Multiple underlap |
More than two attackers in the attacking line compared to the defending line |
| Defensive shape and movement: |
Configuration and movement pattern of defenders (Hendricks et al. 2013) |
| Up and In |
Defenders approach the attacking line in a straight line formation followed by the outer players (players furthest away from the ball) advancing ahead of the line towards the ball |
Up and Out
|
Defenders approach the attacking line in a straight line formation followed by inner players (players closest to the ball) following the movement of the ball towards the touch line |
| Push/Rush |
The defenders approach the attacking line at a fast speed and are in a straight and direct line |
| Lateral Shift |
Initial movement of the defenders is towards the touch line without challenging attacking line/attacker |
| Advancing Runner: |
One defender shoots rapidly from the defensive line ahead of the other defenders towards attacking line/attacker |
| Straight Line |
Defenders are in a straight line while approaching the attacking line |
| Static Line |
Defenders are in a straight line with no movement toward the attacking line/attacker |
| Arrow Head |
Defenders approach the attacking line in a triangle shape formation, i.e., one defender is followed by other defenders besides and behind him on each side |
