Description of the different engagement techniques analysed
| Condition | Abbreviation | Referee's calls | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hit and hold | CTPE | Crouch–touch–pause–engage | Baseline condition The forward pack engaged the machine and held a short-duration sustained push |
| Three-stage | CTS | Crouch–touch–x–set | Similarly to CTPE in motion but the vocal engagement sequence was modified by substituting the ‘pause’ call with a non-verbal pause |
| Fold-in | Fold-in | Crouch–touch–pause–engage–shape–power | Following the CTPE engagement sequence the forward pack had already received instructions to engage the machine with no attempt to generate momentum before contact with the pads (ie, to ‘fold-in’). Following a short period of settling the pack received a verbal instruction to adopt good body posture (‘shape’) and then a further verbal command to initiate a push (‘power’) which was maintained for a short duration |
| Sequential, 7+1 | 7+1 | Crouch–touch–pause–engage | Player number 8 was instructed to have no involvement in the initial engagement phase. The front 7 players went through the CTPE engagement sequence and hold of the push. Having allowed the initial engagement to occur the number 8 could then find a binding position between the second row forwards and contribute to the push already taking place |
| Sequential, 5+3 | 5+3 | Crouch–touch–pause–engage | The entire back row (number 8 and flankers) were instructed to have no involvement in the initial engagement phase. The front 5 players went through the CTPE engagement sequence and hold of the push. Having allowed the initial engagement to occur the back row could then find their normal binding position (‘latch on’) and contribute to the push already taking place |
x, Non-verbal pause.