Sport is one of those situations where the mastery of science can run away with itself. Take two recent, important sporting events; Lions tour 2009 and Wimbledon 2009. In the men's final of Wimbledon there were 3 breaks of serve, 3. The longest final ever and only 3 breaks of serve. The quality of first serve, in terms of percentage, power and placement was unbelievable. One began to question whether the loser would not be the lesser player, but the one more susceptible to the attrition. The Lions tour takes a similar bent although the consequences are direr. As players increase in size and power, concern themselves with the hit and winning the collision, injuries skyrocket. The Lions loss of the second test can be purely attributed to the loss of both props and therefore contested scrums and the loss of both centres around whom their gameplan ironically centred. The physical nature of rugby is an undoubted asset; however when half the players in a game require treatment at one point or another one begins to wonder.
The unifying factor here is the advancement of training techniques through science perfected in the professional era has changed the game. In the example of tennis less emphasis is placed on winning rallies than winning free points from powerful serves. The ace count in the final topped 70. The Lions tour has bigger players hitting harder than ever before. Science has enabled fine-tuning of bodies for maximum power, perhaps over-riding skill and subtlety. This places a greater premium on players like Brian O'Driscoll, able to be subtle under the pressure of power.
Sport and Science are bedfellows and will continue to be so with the amounts of money and pride at stake, but perhaps concentration on raising the spectacle of the game, raising the welfare of the players would be prudent.
The unifying factor here is the advancement of training techniques through science perfected in the professional era has changed the game. In the example of tennis less emphasis is placed on winning rallies than winning free points from powerful serves. The ace count in the final topped 70. The Lions tour has bigger players hitting harder than ever before. Science has enabled fine-tuning of bodies for maximum power, perhaps over-riding skill and subtlety. This places a greater premium on players like Brian O'Driscoll, able to be subtle under the pressure of power.
Sport and Science are bedfellows and will continue to be so with the amounts of money and pride at stake, but perhaps concentration on raising the spectacle of the game, raising the welfare of the players would be prudent.
