Routines, rituals, and rugby: Case study of a world class goal kicker

This paper presents a case study of the most prolific rugby goal kicker of all time. In the first part of the study, the consistency of his preperform ance routine was analyzed over kicks of varying difficulty. Results indicat e that while certain physical aspects of his routine remain consistent, bot h his concentration time and physical preparation time increase with kick d ifficulty. In the second part of the study, the participant was interviewed about his physical and mental preparation for rugby goal kicking in compet itive situations. The interview revealed that the participant incorporates a number of psychological skills into his routine, including thought stoppi ng, cueing, and imagery but does not do so consistently. However, he percei ves the timing of his routine to be highly consistent. Implications of thes e findings for the recommendation that performers strive for temporal consi stency in their routines (Boutcher, 1990) are discussed.