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The Lions Sports Academy TackleTEK Tool: The intra-and inter-coach reliability of assessing tackling competency in rugby union

Robert Owen, Camilla Knight, Will Page, Jamie Tallent, Liam Kilduff Orcid Logo, Mark Waldron Orcid Logo

PLOS One, Volume: 21, Issue: 4, Start page: e0346881

Swansea University Authors: Robert Owen, Camilla Knight, Liam Kilduff Orcid Logo, Mark Waldron Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1371/journal.pone.0346881

Abstract

Tackling skill tests in rugby aim to evaluate skill competency, but their reliability to detect meaningful changes in tackling competency over time remains uncertain. This study aimed to: 1) determine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of scoring composite tackle competency by three youth grassr...

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Published in: PLOS One
ISSN: 1932-6203
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71755
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This study aimed to: 1) determine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of scoring composite tackle competency by three youth grassroots rugby coaches (tier one, two, and three), and 2) assess reliability in scoring across tackling subcomponents (pre-contact, contact, and post-contact) using the TackleTEK Tool. Pilot data was used to develop a-priori analytical goals to assess the reliability of composite and subcomponent scoring. Non-parametric 95% Limits of Agreement were used to assess reliability. Twenty-five participants were recorded performing the one vs. one tackling assessment. The three coaches scored each tackle against pre-defined 18-point criteria. Systematic differences were assessed using Wilcoxon tests. Intra-coach composite tackling scores demonstrated agreement levels of 72% (95% CI 60% to 84%) for the tier three coach, and 100% (95% CI 100% to 100%) for both the tier two and one coaches, relative to the analytical goal. 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spelling 2026-05-11T10:53:09.8178115 v2 71755 2026-04-16 The Lions Sports Academy TackleTEK Tool: The intra-and inter-coach reliability of assessing tackling competency in rugby union 862bdd2655948a3f0f4ab627fb7014d8 Robert Owen Robert Owen true false 6c81176f7e92c7c04ff6cfb8f1a0ed60 Camilla Knight Camilla Knight true false 972ed9a1dda7a0de20581a0f8350be98 0000-0001-9449-2293 Liam Kilduff Liam Kilduff true false 70db7c6c54d46f5e70b39e5ae0a056fa 0000-0002-2720-4615 Mark Waldron Mark Waldron true false 2026-04-16 Tackling skill tests in rugby aim to evaluate skill competency, but their reliability to detect meaningful changes in tackling competency over time remains uncertain. This study aimed to: 1) determine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of scoring composite tackle competency by three youth grassroots rugby coaches (tier one, two, and three), and 2) assess reliability in scoring across tackling subcomponents (pre-contact, contact, and post-contact) using the TackleTEK Tool. Pilot data was used to develop a-priori analytical goals to assess the reliability of composite and subcomponent scoring. Non-parametric 95% Limits of Agreement were used to assess reliability. Twenty-five participants were recorded performing the one vs. one tackling assessment. The three coaches scored each tackle against pre-defined 18-point criteria. Systematic differences were assessed using Wilcoxon tests. Intra-coach composite tackling scores demonstrated agreement levels of 72% (95% CI 60% to 84%) for the tier three coach, and 100% (95% CI 100% to 100%) for both the tier two and one coaches, relative to the analytical goal. Inter-coach composite tackling agreement ranged from 78% (95% CI 67% to 89%) to 100% (95% CI 100% to 100%). Intra-coach subcomponent analysis showed the tier one and tier two coach to score all tackling subcomponents consistently (P > 0.05); however, the tier three coach only reliably scored the pre-contact phase. Subcomponent agreement ranged from 68% (95% CI 55% to 81%) to 82% (95% CI 71% to 93%), between tier three and tier one coaches, to 72% (95% CI 60% to 84%) to 98% (95% CI 94% to 100%), between tier two and tier one coaches. Within the context of this study, agreement was strongest for tier one and tier two coaches, supporting the use of the TackleTEK Tool to assess changes in tackling competency over time, with further work required to extend its application across coaching levels. Journal Article PLOS One 21 4 e0346881 Public Library of Science (PLoS) 1932-6203 24 4 2026 2026-04-24 10.1371/journal.pone.0346881 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) This work was funded by Lions Sports Academy Ltd (https://lionssports.academy/). The grant (AMS106867) was awarded to MW. The funders facilitated data collection through collaboration with Swansea University. 2026-05-11T10:53:09.8178115 2026-04-16T21:13:44.1532103 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences Robert Owen 1 Camilla Knight 2 Will Page 3 Jamie Tallent 4 Liam Kilduff 0000-0001-9449-2293 5 Mark Waldron 0000-0002-2720-4615 6 71755__36690__f79c4e47cbd340b698f14b7095d4da47.pdf 71755.VOR.pdf 2026-05-11T10:47:48.2295890 Output 649235 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 Owen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title The Lions Sports Academy TackleTEK Tool: The intra-and inter-coach reliability of assessing tackling competency in rugby union
spellingShingle The Lions Sports Academy TackleTEK Tool: The intra-and inter-coach reliability of assessing tackling competency in rugby union
Robert Owen
Camilla Knight
Liam Kilduff
Mark Waldron
title_short The Lions Sports Academy TackleTEK Tool: The intra-and inter-coach reliability of assessing tackling competency in rugby union
title_full The Lions Sports Academy TackleTEK Tool: The intra-and inter-coach reliability of assessing tackling competency in rugby union
title_fullStr The Lions Sports Academy TackleTEK Tool: The intra-and inter-coach reliability of assessing tackling competency in rugby union
title_full_unstemmed The Lions Sports Academy TackleTEK Tool: The intra-and inter-coach reliability of assessing tackling competency in rugby union
title_sort The Lions Sports Academy TackleTEK Tool: The intra-and inter-coach reliability of assessing tackling competency in rugby union
author_id_str_mv 862bdd2655948a3f0f4ab627fb7014d8
6c81176f7e92c7c04ff6cfb8f1a0ed60
972ed9a1dda7a0de20581a0f8350be98
70db7c6c54d46f5e70b39e5ae0a056fa
author_id_fullname_str_mv 862bdd2655948a3f0f4ab627fb7014d8_***_Robert Owen
6c81176f7e92c7c04ff6cfb8f1a0ed60_***_Camilla Knight
972ed9a1dda7a0de20581a0f8350be98_***_Liam Kilduff
70db7c6c54d46f5e70b39e5ae0a056fa_***_Mark Waldron
author Robert Owen
Camilla Knight
Liam Kilduff
Mark Waldron
author2 Robert Owen
Camilla Knight
Will Page
Jamie Tallent
Liam Kilduff
Mark Waldron
format Journal article
container_title PLOS One
container_volume 21
container_issue 4
container_start_page e0346881
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 1932-6203
doi_str_mv 10.1371/journal.pone.0346881
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences
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description Tackling skill tests in rugby aim to evaluate skill competency, but their reliability to detect meaningful changes in tackling competency over time remains uncertain. This study aimed to: 1) determine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of scoring composite tackle competency by three youth grassroots rugby coaches (tier one, two, and three), and 2) assess reliability in scoring across tackling subcomponents (pre-contact, contact, and post-contact) using the TackleTEK Tool. Pilot data was used to develop a-priori analytical goals to assess the reliability of composite and subcomponent scoring. Non-parametric 95% Limits of Agreement were used to assess reliability. Twenty-five participants were recorded performing the one vs. one tackling assessment. The three coaches scored each tackle against pre-defined 18-point criteria. Systematic differences were assessed using Wilcoxon tests. Intra-coach composite tackling scores demonstrated agreement levels of 72% (95% CI 60% to 84%) for the tier three coach, and 100% (95% CI 100% to 100%) for both the tier two and one coaches, relative to the analytical goal. Inter-coach composite tackling agreement ranged from 78% (95% CI 67% to 89%) to 100% (95% CI 100% to 100%). Intra-coach subcomponent analysis showed the tier one and tier two coach to score all tackling subcomponents consistently (P > 0.05); however, the tier three coach only reliably scored the pre-contact phase. Subcomponent agreement ranged from 68% (95% CI 55% to 81%) to 82% (95% CI 71% to 93%), between tier three and tier one coaches, to 72% (95% CI 60% to 84%) to 98% (95% CI 94% to 100%), between tier two and tier one coaches. Within the context of this study, agreement was strongest for tier one and tier two coaches, supporting the use of the TackleTEK Tool to assess changes in tackling competency over time, with further work required to extend its application across coaching levels.
published_date 2026-04-24T17:20:11Z
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score 11.106612

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