Open Questions
Items to sort out during design
| # | Question/Issue | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Do we need to have conditional lineups such as:
"only play this lineup if I'm in the 3rd match of the session and am in the championship match" |
Possibly. I think we can avoid with the right competition structures. | |
| 2 | If we are using injuries, how will we handle that during a session? If injured in match 1 of a session can I play in match 2 (depending on endurance/fit level)? Should we have a depth chart for each team/position so we know who has to come in? Should we make an injury an "off for the rest of this match; but can play the next match at a lower starting endurance/fit level"? | Rugby players tend not to go off injured unless there’s something really serious like a broken leg. Injury perhaps just reduces endurance or fitness? | |
| 3 | Weather
How much of a factor is weather in Rugby 7s. I watched one match where USA v Argentina played and it seemed like there was a slight impact (slippery footing for example). I know it impacts American football at times. Is it a factor in this game and if so do we want to deal with it in any way? |
The main effect of rain in 7s is to make the ball slippery, which means more dropped passes. To counter this, teams will run the ball more and pass less. They will also be more prepared to kick the ball more often, on the basis that a defender is more likely to drop a ball kicked high in the air, giving them a scrum further up the pitch.
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| 4 | Match mechanics
I’ve assumed you could just plug in elements of TMVL where actions are taken just by one player (eg - a pass or a kick can be rated on the 1-3 scale) to decide how good it is. Where there is competition between two players to decide an outcome (such as trying to grab a loose ball), I’ve assumed that you could have a base percentage split (eg Defence have a 60% chance of getting to a loose ball first, Attack have 40%), which could then be modified by respective relevant Skill Levels (eg Pace for a loose ball). Is that the sort of thing you had in mind? |
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| 5 | Do we need separate Loosehead and Tighthead Props? | IRL the only real difference between the two types of Props is that they stand on different sides of the Hooker at a Scrum. Given how few Scrums there are in Sevens, this means they are essentially interchangeable.
The choice of whether to separate them out in the simulation is therefore one that is better driven by gameplay considerations. I don’t have strong views but feel there will be more strategic and tactical options by not separating them |