In Rugby Union, the lineout is a play phase whose performance significantly influences the overall team performance during a game. Indeed, winning teams lose fewer balls during their lineout plays compared to losing teams (Ortega et al. 2009). The lineout throw requires several skills so that the ball to be projected at appropriate height, velocity and angle to be caught by a jumper at variable distances. Despite the importance of the lineout throwing in rugby, few biomechanical studies are present in the scientific literature. These researches highlighted the importance of kinematic analysis and assessed throw accuracy with various methods: under ecological conditions (Sayers 2011) or using fixed target (Trewartha et al. 2008). However, accuracy is not the only parameter in achieving a successful throw. Good timing with the jumper ascension is also essential to offer a minimum of time to the opponent to intercept the ball. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical performance of the lineout throwing by using an innovative device and methods to assess both the accuracy and the timing of the throw. Intra and interpersonal comparisons of kinematic and dynamic parameters were made to characterize throw performance under distance variable conditions.
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