CARDIFF SCHOOL OF SPORT
DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
(HONOURS)
SPORTS COACHING
The Power Relationship Between the
Captain and Player in a University Rugby
Team.
Elliot Bee
09002248
NAME: ELLIOT WILLIAM BEE
STUDENT NUMBER: ST09002248
SCHOOL OF SPORT, SPORTS COACHING
CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY.
THE POWER RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CAPTAIN AND PLAYER IN A
UNIVERSITY RUGBY TEAM.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Acknowledgments
i
Abstract
ii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION.
1.0 Introduction
1
1.1 Objectives
2
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW.
2.0 Literature Review
3
2.1 Athlete Leadership
3
2.2 Transformation Leadership
4
2.3 Transactional Leadership
6
2.4 Team Leadership
7
2.5 The Power Relationship
8
2.6 Symbolic Power
8
2.7 Leadership as a Power Relationship
9
CHAPTER III
METHOD.
3.0 Method
12
3.1 Nature of Research
12
3.2 Participants
12
3.3 Pilot Study
13
3.4 Procedure
13
3.5 Data Analysis
14
3.6 Reliability and Validity
15
CHAPTER IV
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
4.0 Tabulated Results
16
4.1 Summary of Findings
16
4.2 Transformational Leadership
17
4.3 Transactional and Team Leadership
19
4.4 The Power Relationship
22
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
5.0 Conclusion
26
5.1 Limitations and Recommendations
27
LIST OF TABLES.
APPENDICES.
Table 1: Interview 1 (Player One), Categorised Data Analysis.
I
Table 2: Interview 2 (Player Two), Categorised Data Analysis.
I
Table 3: Interview 3 (The Captain), Categorised Data Analysis.
I
APPENDICES.
Appendix A
Participant Information Sheet
Appendix B
Informed Consent Form
Appendix C
Pilot Interview
Appendix D
Final Interview Transcript for Player
Appendix E
Final Interview Transcript for Captain
Appendix F
Interview One, Open Coding
Appendix G
Interview Two, Open Coding
Appendix H
Interview Three, Open Coding
Appendix I
Tabulation of Coding Results
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Firstly I would like to thank my dissertation tutor Mr. Toby Nichols for his support and
help with this dissertation throughout the year, and also thanks to my housemates
who have considered my work on this study by providing a peaceful working
environment over the year.
i
ABSTRACT.
This study aimed to address the power relationships within the team environment of
the sport rugby. Using the captain/player dynamic to exemplify the balance of power
in this relationship, findings were then be related to the leadership approach adopted
by the captain and team and how this impacted the power balance. In order to
investigate further into this phenomenon a qualitative approach was implemented.
Interviews were conducted with the use of three participants who all had experience
and knowledge surrounding the team environment within the specified sport. Each
interview addressed several theoretical areas which were drawn upon from relevant
past literature, questions were then formulated in order to guide discussion with each
interviewee. The results were categorised through the use of an open coding
system and then were tabulated in order to categorise the findings.
The categorical analysis of data portrayed the constant re-balancing of power within
the captain/player relationship, findings suggested that the relationship was
dependent upon the environment and the interaction took place. The captain
seemed to be in possession of power within the playing arena, in spite of regular
competition from other players, whereas within the social context the power dynamic
adjusted to equilibrium between the player and captain. Findings also showed that
the power relationship related directly to the type of leadership adopted by the
captain and team, transformational leadership related to the equal balance of power
between the two whereas a transactional approach came hand in hand with the
captains domination of power possession.
Key Words: Athlete leadership, transformational, transactional, team leadership,
power relations, symbolic power.
ii
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction.
Social power involved the use of influential behaviour in order to dictate the actions
of another so they carry out what they otherwise would not think of doing (Weber,
1978). Forms of power can be seen in everyday interactions and situations, for
example social power can be discovered within business organisations, the army
and specifically sport in the team environment when this ability to influence people’s
actions is put into practice, with the overall aim to achieve a desired outcome.
A researcher who had great influence on this study was Pierre Bourdieu (1930 –
2002) who enhanced the interest surrounding the social environment with the
investigation of social power. The research examined the social structures or social
fields that people interacted from within and the power that existed from within these
concepts. The position or placement an individual has within the team can be
shaped and influenced by the interactions one has with others, therefore the balance
of power adjusts or redistributes amongst the team, for example the idea of hierarchy
within a group due to the possession of power or social capital could be related to
the reward of captaincy of the team. An individual has acquired a larger volume of
power in comparison to his teammates warranting this position where influence over
others can be exercised (Bourdieu, 1989).
It can be conventional for a coach to provide an athlete with the position of captain,
with the coach’s intention to provide leadership for his team through this individual
with the given authority (Loughead, Hardy and Eys, 2006). Having the leadership
position the captain can then be open for observation upon leadership approach and
how it can impact the players around him.
In order to further the research surrounding the leadership role of the captain and the
power sharing dynamic in the sporting context, this research project addressed this
concept within the sport of rugby by focusing upon the relationship between the
captain of a university team and the rest of his players. Instead of imitating many
previous studies surrounding the power relationship between Coach and Athlete, this
research shifted the focus to the investigation of the inner team environment, types
of leadership and the power distribution shown between the captain and the rest of
the team.
1
1.1 Objectives.
The main objectives were as follows:

Firstly to discover the type of leadership adopted by the captain and the
team, whether it was purely a transformational or a transactional approach
displayed by the captain alone, or whether the team had a collective role in
leadership.

The second objective analysed the power relationship between captain and
player inside and outside the playing environment and how the captain’s
leadership approach affected this dynamic relationship and vice versa.
2
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Literature Review.
2.1 Athlete Leadership.
As many as 65 different classifications systems have been developed to define
leadership itself and from among these, ‘some define leadership as the power
relationship that exists between leaders and followers’ (Northhouse, 2001. p2)
however it seemed fitting to look at leadership in its broader background. The four
central constructs that can be applied across all definitions of leadership, starting
with: ‘a) leadership is a process b) leadership involves influence c) leadership occurs
in groups, and d) leadership involves common goals’ (Northouse, 2001, p3). The
efforts to explore leadership within the sporting context have been very sparse and
sporadic, with most of the current research observing leadership from the coach’s
perspective (Chelladurai, 1984; Chelladurai & Riemer, 1998; Vincer, Baker,
Loughead & Munroe-Chandler, 2007).
In an attempt to further research in the leadership spectrum, task, social and external
functions were taken into account when research was conducted on peer leaders
and team leaders in a large selection of varsity athletes from a total of thirteen
teams. The results showed firstly that both team captains and other teammates
were sources of leadership in the team, and despite leadership functions ‘formal
leaders’ (e.g. team captains) were likely to be seen as team leaders, whereas
‘informal leaders’ (those without a designated leadership role) were viewed as peer
leaders by their teammates (Loughead, Hardy & Eys, 2006). A second finding
concluded that as for the number of athlete leaders not every athlete assumed or
had a leadership role within the team (Loughead, et al,. 2006). One shortcoming of
this research was that it did not address the personal characteristics of the leaders
within the team it purely gives them a label, this warranted the investigation of
leadership characteristics shown from the captain in the team environment.
Chelladurai & Saleh (1980) constructed what is known as the LSS (Leadership Scale
for Sport) which was developed in order to find out the preferred method of
leadership displayed from the coach to his athletes. This 40 point scale included
items under the titles of: Training and Instruction, Democratic Behaviour, Autocratic
Behaviour, Social Support, Positive Feedback. This scale was used in multiple
3
studies (Loughead & Vincer, 2010) including that of Loughead and Hardy’s (2005)
study which investigated the leader behaviours exhibited by coaches and athlete
leaders as perceived by athletes from a variety of interdependent team sports. The
results portrayed that, ‘athletes perceived that athlete leaders exhibited greater
amounts of Social Support, Positive Feedback, and Democratic Behaviours’ whereas
the perceived coaching leadership behaviour from the athletes to the coaches
indicated that they were autocratic and instruction based on the LSS (Vincer &
Loughead, 2010. p449). Not only did it show that athletes and coaches occupied
diverse leadership roles within a team, it also furthered research into the direction of
athlete leadership and the characteristics displayed within this construct.
Further evidence that surrounded the athlete as a source of leadership within the
team environment stemmed from Price (2011), who proclaimed that it was not only
the coach who possessed leadership qualities within a team, the athlete could also
occupy leadership roles despite the lack of attention throughout the literature.
Following this the fact that even though the best players in the team were normally
considered leaders by example, leadership did not always correlate with ability
status, this was considered preceding Price’s (2011) study to examine peer
leadership within sport using a transformational leadership theory. The first aim
observed the relationship between personal characteristics (i.e. peer acceptance,
intrinsic motivation) and peer leadership behaviour, with the second investigating the
relationship between peer leadership behaviours and team outcomes (i.e. team
cohesion). The study was performed upon female soccer players with the results
showing that, ‘team members associated leadership behaviours with peers who are
confident in their soccer abilities, are like by others, prefer challenging tasks to easy
ones, and act in behaviourally appropriate ways.’ (Price, 2011. p60). The research
discovered that peer leaders occupy many of the same characteristics used in
description when addressing the transformational leadership theory.
2.2 Transformational Leadership
Leadership was beginning to evolve and a new theory was being developed
(Doherty & Danylchuk,1996), the theory of ‘new leadership’ was based upon
previous research that split leadership into two alternative approaches, one being
transactional and one being transforming (transforming was then later altered by
4
Bass (1985) to transformational) (Burns ,1978; Bryman,1992). In order to
understand these two leadership styles Kuhnert & Lewis (1987) provided two
definitions, transactional leadership was when one person contacted others with the
aim to exchange something of value with the individual, whereas transformational
leadership was described as the shift from pure compliance of followers to the
beliefs, the needs and the value of followers. In accordance with Bass (1985) the
reason for such a contemporary interest in transformational leadership was purely
because it provided more of an appealing view of leadership in comparison to the
‘cold’ social exchange process involved in transactional leadership. ‘Followers not
only seek an inspirational leader to help guide them through an uncertain
environment but followers also want to be challenged and to feel empowered’.
(Bass, B, 1985. p11).
Zacharatos, Balling and Kelloway (2000) and there study on transformational
leadership behaviours, made use of the five transformational leadership
components; idealized influence behaviour, idealized influence attitude, inspirational
motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Antonakis,
Avolio, & Sivasubramaniam, 2003; Avolio & Bass, 2004; Bass & Avolio, 2000).
Within these five components a description of a transformational leader could be
construed as being someone who built his subordinates respect and trust along with
raising each individual’s expectation of what they could achieve and motivating them
toward the team’s goal. Zacharatos et al,.(2000) then measured each dimension of
transformational leadership behaviours by using 12 items selected from the
Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) (Bass & Avolio, 1995). The results of
the study did show that peers and coaches perceived leaders who used
transformational behaviours as effective, satisfying and effort-evoking. However one
shortcoming of this study, in specific reference to the measurement of the data
collected, related to the quantitative nature of the assortment, ‘quantitative research
is defined as confirmatory, deductive, structured, and controlled’ (Tashakkori &
Teddue, 2003. p304). The study involved using a scale to rate the leadership
behaviours alongside a structured questionnaire, this could be drawn upon as a
limitation as each ranking number could be defined or interpreted differently by each
individual as well as each question on the questionnaire, therefore affecting the
trustworthiness of the results gathered.
5
While the characteristics associated with transformational leadership have been
widely agreed throughout the research community (Wang & Huang, 2009; Burton &
Peachey, 2009), there were still some critics who remained with the opinion that the
literature did not take the followers characteristics into consideration. If the science
of leadership produced a periodic table of elements one might conclude that
leadership studies have focused upon a limited set of elements, without the
consideration of other relevant elements such as the follower and the context
(Avolio, 2007). Following this criticism it was suggested that followers should be
considered as they provided a source of variance which had not yet been explored,
and that without consideration for the follower it would cause the whole leadership
process to be flawed, as without the follower there was no leader. Therefore the job
of the leader should be to create an imaginary community that the follower can feel
part of (Frieberg, 1999; Grint, 2000). Drawing from this it was important to further
research by considering the followers in this study and how their characteristics or
behaviours affected the relationship between them and the leader of the team.
Arthur, Woodman, Chin, Hardy & Ntoumanis (2011) considered the follower in their
study on the effect of narcissism on leader behaviours, and their findings suggested
that the followers’ characteristics could influence leader effectiveness, and therefore
needed to be considered when addressing this type of leadership study.
2.3 Transactional Leadership.
Transactional leadership can be defined as being an exchange process based upon
contract and reward, the leader would instruct followers to carry out specific
responsibilities and then evaluate how successfully these responsibilities were
carried out (Bass, 1990). Three possible leadership approaches have been
conceptualised with the use of a model of transactional leadership, contingent
reward, leader behaviour which involves the exchange of effort and reward with the
subordinate. A fourth component approached management by exception which
involved the leader only intervening if the subordinate got something wrong, these
can be ‘passive’(leaders wait for something to go wrong) or ‘active’ (leaders seek out
an error) (Bass, 1985). Finally the laissez-faire approach, this saw the leader take
no interest in the well being of subordinates showing no motivation towards any
initiatives or goals with a defeatist attitude (Bass, 1985; Bass & Avolio, 1990).
Transactional leadership has been outweighed in the literature by the more
6
favourable style of transformational leadership, reasoning for this resided in the
caring and emotional nature attached to transformational leadership, and that this
leadership approach led to greater organisational commitment (Burton & Peachey,
2009). However research suggested that transactional leadership can be favoured
more so when addressing leadership effectiveness and high detail orientated work.
This can be related back to the very nature of transactional leadership as it worked
on an instruction and evaluation basis, and only involved the leader intervening if
there was a problem (Burton & Peachey, 2009).
The literature provided plenty of evidence of transformational leadership within sport
(Charbonneau, Barling, Kalloway, 2001; Rowald, 2006) and the coaching and
management context, however despite Doherty & Danylchuk’s (1996) study on
Transformational and Transactional Leadership in Interuniversity Athletics
Management, there was little research focusing upon both transactional and
transformational leadership in the sporting context, which provoked further
investigation into these two areas of leadership.
2.4 The Team Approach to Leadership.
The term team typically refers to a group of two or more people who interact
interdependently toward some common objectives or goals (Webber & Donahue,
2001). In order for the team to be effective the team members need to perceive
themselves as being part of the team and perceived as such by others, in
concurrence with this, in order for a team to be successful they need to define their
future goals and targets and organise themselves so they can progress towards
achievement (Kerr & Tindale, 2004; Gupta, Huang & Niranjan 2010). Most existing
literature upon leadership has focused upon one appointed individual to lead the
team therefore casting aside, ‘the collective influence of members in a team on each
other” (Manz & Sims, 1987; Sivasubramaniam, Murry, Jung, & Avolio, 2002, p. 68).
On the contrary Leadership can be embedded in the team and represents a focus
upon the collective rather than being placed upon one individual’s shoulders (Gupta,
V., Huang, R & Niranjan, S, 2010).
7
Team leadership has been linked to the development of cohesion for some time
(Ensley, Pearson, & Pearce, 2003), however Gupta (2010) found that team
leadership had very little effect upon team cohesion (“the tendency for a group to
stick together” (Carron, 1982, p. 124)) and was strongly negatively related to conflict
within the team. The study showed that the team leadership approach maybe
applicable to reduce the conflict within a team but it has very little effect upon the
cohesion of the team; in fact collective leadership can create role ambiguity (Yukl,
1999). The past research collected has shown that joint leadership makes
responsibilities unclear and this confusion can have an impact upon other team
mates as well as the whole team (Howell & Dorfman, 1981). Therefore in this study
it was important to see whether team leadership had any effect upon the power
balance in the team and also if this approach to leadership was put to use by the
captain.
2.5 The Power Relationship.
2.6 Symbolic Power.
Many social interactions are indelibly tinged by issues of power and power
differences, considering this present study the interaction between captain and
athlete may have influenced the dynamics and possibly the outcomes of these
encounters (Snyder & Kiviniemi, 2001). Bourdieu’s work on social capital and
symbolic power in the 1970’s and early 80’s looks at society as a combination of
social fields and within these fields are forces that are balanced by different forms of
power or species of capital (Siisiäinen, 2000; Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1996). With the
definition of capital being the exercise of control over one’s own future as well as
others (Ritzer, 1996), Bourdieu further addressed the meaning of social capital and
defined it as having two components being group membership and social networks.
Showing active involvement within the membership of a group and developing within
them and the social relations arising from them, can be used to improve the social
positioning within the group (Siisiäinen, 2000). However as a result of the constant
interaction and confrontation amongst ‘actors’ within the social field, in order to
transform or preserve the possession of force inevitably it equated to the balance or
the sharing of power, ‘to what I call a division of the work of domination’ (Bourdieu &
Wacquant 1996, p76). Furthermore, ‘by supplying services in demand to others, a
person establishes power over them’ relatively, the captain holding the leadership
8
position in the team, and when the captain led his team to win he was ‘providing
needed benefits others cannot easily do without’ and this ‘is undoubtedly the most
prevalent way of attaining power’ (Blau, P, 2009. p7). This theory related closely to
the exchange process of the transactional approach to leadership and exemplified
the connection between leadership and power.
Many studies have addressed the power relationship between coach and athlete
(Jackson, Gucciardi, Dimmock, 2011; Rhind & Jowett, 2010) and to exemplify that of
Jones & Cushion (2006), who used the work of Pierre Bourdieu to understand and
critique the coaching process, the results portrayed that coaches were a product of
their habitus. This can be defined as “product of internalisation of the principles of a
cultural arbitrary capable of perpetuating itself” (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977, p.31).
The personification of habitus was seen in the way a person acted, the way they
carried themselves and the idiosyncratic behaviour that they displayed beyond a
conscious control or awareness of it (Bourdieu, 1989).
Bourdieu claimed that fundamental powers including social capital and symbolic
capital, were spread across the overall given social space according to the volume of
capital and the type of capital in possession by the individual (Bourdieu, 1989).
These individuals in the given social space were placed in similar conditions and
therefore took part in similar experiences therefore producing comparable practices.
The individual became adjusted to a position within the social space and through
these experiences and interactions it was ‘knowing ones place’ that “common folk”
within the group maintained rank and “keep their distance” (Bourdieu, 1989).
Habitus was acquired as a result of occupying a role within the social context
however not every habitus was the same and this difference in habitus highlighted
the fact that the social world was ever changing (Jones & Cushion, 2006). This
framework gave the opportunity to investigate the reality of the social interactions
within the team of study.
2.7 Leadership as a Power Relationship.
‘Leadership is reciprocal and dynamic, involving the use of power’ (Kouzes &
Posner, 1990. p29) as power can be defined as the ability to influence the behaviour
of others (Mintzberg, 1983), so in reference to power relating directly to leadership
Adler and Rodman (1994) saw power as something that an individual cannot just
9
easily possess or luck, and instead of thinking that a captain was, ‘powerful’ or
‘powerless’ think in terms of how much influence he had over the rest of the team.
The influence the captain possessed purely from having that title related closely to
the five bases of social power theorised by French and Raven (1959), for example a
player will gain legitimate power when being selected as captain by the coach, this
base of power arouse from the title-position one holds (Athanasios, L, Nikolaos, T &
Dimitros, G. 2003). The captain’s position conveyed authority to the rest of the team
members, and they were obliged to respectfully follow his directions/decisions, the
teammates accepted this source of power to be legitimate therefore this was why
they complied. Athanasios’ et al., (2003) research focused upon the leadership
qualities of 30 coaches and how this impacted upon team performance, the
procedure for data collection involved a questionnaire approach asking them to
indicate the importance of leadership and the five dimensions of power.
A possible shortcoming associated with this research performed by Athanasios et al.,
(2003) was how can you measure or categorise within such an ambiguous process
that is inner team power relations. How can it be possible that the definitions of each
type of power named by French and Raven (1959) will be exactly the same for each
individual coach involved in the questionnaire process? A qualitative approach to
this same study would have provided each coach an opportunity to give a more in
depth, and possibly more reliable explanation of what type of leadership in reference
to power they perceived to be most effective.
An alternative view on leadership adjusted the focus upon leadership, and
accentuated how it can also depend upon other individuals within the team
surrendering their power to define their own reality, however if this was not the case
and a group situation embodied competing individuals then leadership could not
evolve (Morgan & Smircich, 1982). Leaders were placed in a position where
expectation is placed upon their shoulders by the ‘led’ individuals of the team, and
although leaders absorbed their power through capability of defining the reality for
others, the inability to control the complete process planted seeds of disorganisation
within the relationship (Morgan & Smircich, 1982). It is the actions of leaders that
guide the attention of those involved in the situation, and that leaders transform what
may seem ambiguous to the ‘led’ into something more discrete and simple, this was
referred to as ‘punctuation of contexts’ by Weick (1979), ‘the leader’s
10
action may generate a variety of interpretations that set the basis for meaningful
action’ (Morgan & Smircich, 1982. p262). This action may be taken as a result of
what Zand (1997) contended that when subordinates trustedd leaders, subordinates
are willing to take risks to achieve the objectives and tasks leaders assign because
they believed that their own rights and interests would not be abused.
Furthermore Costa (2003) found that with regard to interpersonal relationships and
group interactions, trust was regarded as a very important factor, Shen & Chen
(2007) and their study on The Relationship of Leadership, Team Trust and Team
Performance concluded that there was a positive effect of team trust on team
performance in the service and manufacturing industries. Team trust, in addition to
being affected by leadership, also affected team performance (Shen et al,. 2007.
p653). This trust and respect for the individual with given authority was vital for
leadership to be effective, however if individuals surrounding a figure of given
authority disagree with the role or integrity of the individual collectively it can overtly
effect the distribution of power, ‘leaders need integrity, an organisation that has no
trust in its leadership will not do well in the long run’ (Vries, M, 2011. p192-197).
11
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY.
3.0 Method.
3.1 Nature of the Research.
The nature of the research was to explore the types of leadership within the team
environment, with a parallel objective of furthering research into the interpersonal
power relationship within a group in a sporting context. Due to the theoretical nature
of the study and in order to gather the necessary information, a qualitative approach
to data collection was adopted, which focused upon the content of the collection
rather than the specific intricacies of the procedure (Thomas & Nelson, 2001). To
add more weight to the qualitative method it has been claimed that in a social
context we are much more likely to rely on a qualitative assessment (Dey, 1993).
Semi structured interviews were implemented as they were designed to have some
questions prepared in advance to the interview, and they were intended to be
sufficiently open, and without planning, improvised in a theorised manner (Wengraf
(2001). Further reasoning for semi-structured interviews continued as they gave an
in-depth insight into the relationship between captain and player, providing an
opportunity for each interviewee to delve into detailed discussion and comfortably
impart honest opinion. Alongside this, the researcher has the chance to rephrase
questions which the participant may have struggled with in initially, and secure a
more valid (Thomas & Nelson, 1996).
3.2 Participants.
‘Qualitative inquiry typically focuses in depth on relatively small samples, selected
purposefully’ (Patton, 1990, p.169) the sample size for this study was very small
consisting of three participants from university rugby team (est. age 18-21years).
The sampling technique used was purpose sampling, the participants were
deliberately selected with a specific purpose in mind, and firstly because they were
rich sources of data having had a lot of experience within the sport, secondly due to
their attendance and dedication throughout the season they were a reliable and likely
to take part in the study (Marshall, 1996). The sample size of three was chosen
because it allowed for in-depth analysis into the research topic without too much
irrelevant data being collected (Sandelowski, 1995).
12
3.3 Pilot Study.
The advantage of conducting a pilot study was that they can project where the study
may fail or where the method could prove ineffective, it could also point out where
the research could fail on a practical basis for example in relation to this study the
clarity of question, whether the interviewer is speaking too fast therefore making it
hard for the participant to understand. The pilot study was carried out on a
sportsmen who played at a similar level and within the same sport, it proved to be
very useful as the answers provided ‘several functions, principally to increase the
reliability, validity and practicability’ (Oppenheim 1992; Morrison 1993: Wilson and
McLean 1994: p47) of the interview transcript. After the Pilot Interview (Appendix C)
was taken it was clear that the questioning was too precise and too structured, it
gave the participant very little chance to expand on any answers given and little
discussion took place between interviewer and interviewee, which also had a
negative affect on building further rapport with the participant.
3.4 Procedure.
With the closed questioning and the strict structure limiting the pilot study, the final
interview transcript (Appendix D & E) was prepared with consideration that the
‘interview is a social encounter, not simply a site for information exchange’ (Cohen,
Manion, Morrison, 2007. p.350) alongside staying away from probing too deep, as in
accordance with Cicourel (1964) avoidance tactics may be taken by the participant
as a defence mechanism. The final interview transcript (Appendices D and E)
consisted of a two semi-structured layouts of open question, one for the captain and
one for the two players each ‘designed to be sufficiently open’ and with the
expectation of deviation, the questions ‘must be improvised in a careful and
theorized way’. (Wengraf, 2001. p5).
The participants were informed after a regular training session on a Monday night,
and each chosen individual showed enthusiasm to take part in the procedure. They
were all asked to fill out a consent form which included five statements that they had
to initial (Appendices B), these statements confirmed the rights that the participant
had as the interviewee alongside details of the procedure. Once the consent was
given each participant was informed when the interview commenced
13
and where it would take place. Each interview took place in a quiet room in the
library, which gave an opportunity for clear and open discussion due to lack of
disturbance and a comfortable environment. Each interviewee was provided with a
participant information sheet (Appendix A) which informed the interviewee on what
the questions would revolve around alongside assuring the participant of
confidentiality and any question they did not want to answer they could leave out.
Each interview was recorded using a Dictaphone, this data collection instrument and
method increases the accuracy of collection together with increased attention
between interviewer and interviewee (Patton,1990). The interviews were scheduled
to last between 20 and 40 minutes providing time for building rapport and semistructured discussion that led the participant alongside each theoretical area without
becoming too specific.
3.5 Data Analysis.
Post data collection involved the transcription of each interview onto a Word
Document, during the translation process it was important to demonstrate fidelity to
the key features of the interview situation and that the researcher did not miss out
any information recorded (Cohen, Manion, Morrison, 2007). The strategy of
inductive analysis was used upon the data, ‘to allow the important analysis 3
dimensions to emerge from patterns found in the cases under study without
presupposing in advance what the important dimensions will be’ (Patton, 2001.
p.56). The data was then highlighted with reference to key theories drawn upon in
the literature review, ‘when researching scientists’ criteria for theory choice, the first
step was simply to select out from a body of transcribed conference interaction all
references to criteria’ (Potter & Wetherell, 1987. p167). The analysis then
progressed to pulling out key theory and categorising them by using the open coding
technique (Appendices F-H), the use of short sentences and phrases enabled the
researcher to display the commonalities between data alongside linking the results to
previous research. The next step saw the researcher tabulate the relative
information in preparation for discussion, this eased the process of analysis as it
placed data under key titles that related back to theory explored in the literature
review (Appendix I). The titles were as follows: Transactional Leadership,
Transformational Leadership, Team Leadership, Leadership and the Power
Relationship.
14
3.6 Reliability and Validity.
Validity and reliability should be a major concern when a researcher is designing a
study, analysing and judging the quality of work (Patton, 2001). However there was
the argument put forward by Stenbacka (2001) that ‘the concept of reliability is even
misleading in qualitative research. If a qualitative study is discussed with reliability
as a criterion, the consequence is rather that the study is no good’ (p.552) the
reason being is that reliability is associated with measurements. In accordance with
Lincoln & Guba (1985) reliability and validity were essential in quantitative analysis
however for a qualitative approach when considering the quality of the study,
credibility applicability and trustworthiness should be at the forefront of investigation.
Lincoln and Guba (1985) described trustworthiness as establishing confidence in the
findings, and the way this was carried out by the researcher in this study was to
ensure that all participants answered the same questions in a semi-structured
format. However the facilitation of the interview questions by the interviewee was
changeable depending on the participant as every individual answered differently
which affected the direction of the discussion, but the semi-structured format enabled
the researcher to direct the participant if they strayed off subject.
This was the first time the interviewer had played a part in the interview process, so
purely based on experience the last interview recorded may have proved to be more
efficient or confident in comparison to the first, the same applies with the second
interview in relation to the first, and this could have affected the trustworthiness of
the data.
15
CHAPTER IV
RESULTS & DISCUSSION.
4.0 Summary of Tabulated Results.
After the inductive open coding process (Appendix F-H) took place, the quotations
that showed theoretical relevance were tabulated as seen in Appendix E, beginning
with interview one and finishing with the captain’s interview. The results were
summarised below.
Proceeding the tabulation of the data from player one’s perception of his captain and
the team (Appendix I, Table 1), there seemed to be an abundance of
transformational leadership qualities shown from the captain with only one comment
that could be related back to the transactional approach. In relation to team
leadership the table depicted that there was a common use of team leadership with a
small amount of conflict within the team. Looking at the opinion provided
surrounding the power relationship between the captain and player, it would be fair
to say that there was some competition shown towards the leader however the
leader’s power seemed to outweigh any competition in accordance with this data.
What could be seen from player 2 (Appendix I, Table 2) and the data provided was
that there was a more of a balance between transactional and transformational
leadership shown by the captain, but the weight in favour of the transformational
style. However there was a lot more evidence found surrounding team leadership
and the power relationships between players and the captain, with evidence
specifically relating to the social positioning within the group.
When tabulated the data gathered from the captains’ interview (Appendix I, Table 3)
displayed both transformational and transactional leadership approaches, in
reference to team leadership the table showed evidence for conflict within the team
and less evidence for the use of this leadership approach. There was also proof of
competition within the team alongside an abundance of evidence addressing the
power dynamic within the group.
4.1 Summary of Findings.
This study examined the approach to leadership from both the captain and the team
perspective, conjoined with the investigation the power dynamic between the captain
and two players. Instead of looking at leadership as a whole the researcher
specified three different approaches to leadership, transformational, transactional
16
and team leadership. Team leadership was then split into two components, the use
of team leadership and the conflict caused between players due to team leadership.
The interview process aimed at discovering which of these approaches were present
within the team environment. Beside this the analysis of the power dynamic within
the team was examined, in order to categorise the data collected this was also split
into two components, the distribution of power within the team and the habitus one
takes within the team.
The results from all three interviews supported the fact that transformational
leadership was abundant within the team as a whole and within the leadership
approach adopted by the captain. What was also observed was that aside from
player one, both player two and the captain perceived there to be noteworthy
evidence of transactional leadership characteristics displayed by the captain. In
relation to team leadership evidently both players approved the existence of this
approach within the team and perceived very little conflict arising from this, however
the captain saw ample conflict from within the team as a result of this leadership
tactic with little positive outcomes pertaining to the use of this approach. What was
apparent about the power dynamic within the team was that both players perceived
there to be a lot more competition from within the team than what the captain
claimed there to be, added to a wealth of information discovered surrounding the
distribution of power and the habitus one holds within the team environment.
4.2 Transformational Leadership.
With regards to the data collected transformational leadership played a large part in
the approach used by the captain when leading the team, characteristics of this
approach were highlighted by the following quote from player one:
The captain will be like ‘ok boys watch out on this, or do this a bit better’ and
sought of just motivate the boys on the field as well. He is confident in that
position, even if he is not calling the right decisions, if he is confident and
everyone else seems to be listening to him we will obey him.
This view was typical of how the captain led from the front in the playing environment
and how motivation was used as a key part of leadership. It was also evident that
the followers picked up on the positive leadership values being shown by the captain
17
and therefore it had an impact on confidence of the team, alongside a building of
trust towards the captain and other emotional attachments (Antonakis, Avolio, &
Sivasubramaniam, 2003; Avolio & Bass, 2004; Bass & Avolio, 2000), player two
reinforces this point:
Respectable, honest, hardworking, his work rate on the field is unbelievable
you know, going back to leading by example you do notice this.
Player one’s view on how the captain behaved within the team environment
suggested that the captain was careful in approach to interaction with the rest of the
team, making sure that he observed their actions and discussion in order to consider
their needs, giving personal attention before inputting his own opinion and beliefs
(Bass, 1990). From player one’s point of view this seemed to be a preferable
position for the captain as talking too much could be seen as monotonous or boring:
He just tends to just like take a step back and see what the boys do first and
then talk to them afterwards, instead of just talking all the time, because
sometimes if that happens the boys will be like, ‘oooh he’s on there again
talking’.
Evidence below described the relationship between the captain and players and that
through having a good relationship respect was gained, this high level of charisma
enabled the captain to have more of an impact when addressing the players in the
team environment (Bass, 1985):
He still gets on with the lads really well and I think the lads really respect him,
when he is talking you listen.
The language used by player two suggests a high level of authority held by the
captain, ‘when he is talking you listen’ almost demanded the attention of his players.
This was evidence for why the rest of the team intently listened as soon as the
captain spoke, and giving that the captain listened to the team interacting before
giving his own opinion suggested that people listened as they valued what he had to
say. When it came to investigating the Captain’s own opinion on leadership within
the
18
team it became apparent that many qualities displayed by himself to others related
closely to the transformational leadership approach, considering the quotation below
the captain used a metaphorical example of being like a ‘family’, and implied that the
captain led the ‘family’ from the front and nothing could penetrate that:
As a leader as in leading from the front, and that we are family and we are
safe and tight.
Similarities were drawn here between the captain’s approach to leadership and the
idea of creating a vision for the team and providing followers with motivation towards
this vision, this characteristic along with the charisma and individualised
consideration has been described as involved leadership (Bass, 1985; Doherty &
Danylchuk, 1996).
The following quotation referred to the relationship between the captain and a player
when the player was having an ‘off’ game, the claimed qualities shown by the
captain showed consideration, care and sensitivity to the situation the individual was
in. The quotation below showed experience, enabling the leader to show empathy
toward the player and also other examples of the captain’s transformational
characteristics shinning through:
He has made a few wrong decisions then I will be saying ‘look come on let’s
calm it down’ and say ‘we could do this’ and be a bit wiser, and make him buy
into the idea himself, rather than, ‘that’s totally wrong, that’s poor’.
4.3 Transactional Leadership and the Team.
Despite the vast amount of data relating to the transformational approach to
leadership from the captain, evidence suggested transactional characteristics were
also present in the leadership process. Unexpectedly the majority of data relating to
this approach came from the captain himself, this became apparent when the
captain answered the question relating to a perception of the leaders role within the
team:
I see more of my role to make sure that the structures are right and that
everyone knows the calls.
19
The word ‘right’ suggested that the leader kept an eye out for deviations and made
sure that the structures were correct, making sure that everyone was up to speed
and if not action would be taken (Bass, 1985; Bass, 1990). This was then reinforced
by the fact that the captain saw it important to implicate set rules and regulations
surrounding the structures within the game situation:
Then again you do need to time just to organise it, some person to say ‘right
we are doing this, and then we are doing that’ so it’s like a checklist and they
just follow it.
Organisation was one of the key words taken away from the captain’s leadership
approach, evidence suggested it to be vitally important to make sure that followers
were on track and that it was the captain’s responsibility to do this, otherwise it would
prove detrimental to the team’s performance:
Making sure everyone is doing their jobs and roles. Because If I just did my
game and left it there, then the others would do the same.
These results implied that following these set rules and regulations the follower
would gain reward whether it was psychological or materialistic, however this can
create a dependence upon the leader for reward and without this followers will
struggle to develop (Bass, 1985). This could have proved problematic if the captain
was lacking in other leadership characteristics, but due to individualised
consideration and inspirational motivation discovered earlier in the captain this issue
can be counterbalanced creating an effort-evoking affect upon others (Zacharatos et
al,. 2000). Continuation on from this it became apparent that the captain was not the
only leader sought after for reassurance and reward:
I’d say there’s spiritual leaders obviously everyone has got their friendship
groups within the team and I think that everyone has got a leader within those
friendship groups so they look towards them for reassurance and to count on
them kind of thing.
This exemplified team leadership characteristics and in accordance with the two
players interviewed this leadership approach played a big part in the functioning of
the
20
team and in reference to quotation they saw other potential leaders active within the
team and very little conflict was mentioned as a result of this. However when
focused upon the data provided by the captain the opposite view was expressed,
when team leadership was used the captained perceived a high level of conflict as a
result of this. This quotation depicted player one and two’s perception of the use of
team leadership:
Player one:
Possibly again talk to his fly half, see what they think and then collectively
come to a decision.
Player Two:
Break in the game or half time then he will take on board any suggestions or
anything else but in the game that is it, he’s taken on board any suggestions
you’ve had so he’s going to make his decision based on that.
Again the player’s saw the need for team leadership and for the captain to take on
board any suggestions that teammates had in order to make a decision based upon
that. Some conflict was expressed by Player one in relation to how the captain
reacted when questioned upon decision making calls by team members:
Can be quite defensive, because we have questioned his decision, but also
he does take it on board.
The quotation above was reinforced by the captain and the opinion he held on team
leadership:
So ideally to spread all the roles is what you want to do, but then again I think
everyone would be thinking totally different on what the common goal is to be
honest.
The captain explained how team leadership could be applied in the sporting
environment but it could also cause confusion surrounding what role each individual
takes and the agreement upon one goal for the team to progress to (Yukl, 1999;
Howell & Dorfman, 1981), therefore this approach was not favoured by the captain
maybe because it gave other members of the team more power when it came to
21
decision making in the playing environment. To second this negative view of team
leadership expressed by the captain, the social environment was also perceived to
be affected by the use of team leadership causing a split in the group due to the
difference in goals or targets within the team:
Because there is like a split in the group kind of thing, well you have got
players who take it really seriously, people who really want to push on who
want to be like for example first team players and professional players.
Whereas there are the other players who just want to be in the team and
getting the players together.
So I think there is a difference in attitudes there and thoughts, but it does
come together when everyone is just training and the teams there.
It was clear to see that because of this split interest in what players wanted to gain
out of playing for the team it affected the social side of rugby negatively with
reference to the captain. However when the team were together in the playing
environment there was not as much conflict from within, however the final call was
made by the captain:
Ultimately it comes down to your decision at the end of the day.
This evidence surrounding the team leadership approach contradicted that of Gupta
(2010) who claimed that team leadership was negatively related to conflict within the
team, it was noticeable from this study that each individual had a different opinion
upon the leadership approach in place. In this case the captain perceived team
leadership, alongside some positive outcomes, to cause conflict within the social
environment with other leaders splitting the group. Whereas player one and two
reinforced the use of this approach and described everyone to be in agreement with
the direction of the team and perceived no ambiguity surrounding application of
goals or targets.
4.4 The Power Relationship.
The power dynamic within the team was assessed by using questioning that
provoked the interviewee to delve into their perceptions of others when acting within
the social and playing environment. What became apparent was the amount of
22
competition between individuals specifically in the initial encounters of the player’s at
the start of the season, player one expressed this perception of other individuals’
behaviour:
Like ‘I should be better than you because I have played this standard’.
Player one perceived specific players to come across as arrogant and competitive
which in this case was purely based upon the volume of power they possessed as a
result of performing well in the past, this was also noticed by player two and the
captain. However despite the past experience some players expressed to others
these individuals were perceived to have less capital purely because they could not
live up to what they had claimed to be in the past:
Maybe intimidation or maybe they were nervous, and maybe they dropped off
because they couldn’t live with the bigger boys.
The captain referred to more powerful members of the group as ‘the bigger boys’
and suggested that these individuals were intimidated by the more powerful
members of the group, therefore these individuals surrendered their power in order
for the captain and other members of the team to evolve (Morgan & Smircich, 1982).
An outstanding finding from the data collected on the power relationship, was that
relating to the competition portrayed between the players and captain. Interestingly
the competition in this relationship was perceived to be quite one sided, the analysis
of data from player one and two suggested that there was competition for leadership
and power present within the team. Contrary to this the data collected from the
captain suggested an unawareness of this potential threat or dynamic. The
quotation’s below were taken from player one and portrayed this competition first
hand:
It’s sought of harder for me not to talk to the captain, as I have been in that
position myself.
I think everyone has got the right to say what they think, so if you have got
something to say to the captain why not say it?
The second quote showed that player two was not afraid to approach and maybe
question the captain, player one maybe had an adequate possession of power in
23
order to do this, maybe due to the fact of previous experience in captaincy. This
competition between player and captain could be described as confrontation or
maybe just interaction, never the less constant challenging of the captain has been
seen to help improve the social positioning of the player and therefore result in the
balance or sharing of power between the two individuals (Bourdieu & Wacquant
1996). This power relationship was seen to be very dynamic and was affected by
the specific situation each player found themselves in alongside the captain:
His behaviour may change like towards you during the game, but mostly it is
meaningless, and what goes on the field more or less stays on there, so when
you get off the field you go back to being best mates.
This quote exemplified how the captain and player’s relationship constantly altered in
the team environment, in this case it deteriorated when on the field and was restored
back to normal outside the playing environment. This finding also correlated with a
quotation taken from the player two’s interview which suggested that when in the
playing environment the captain possessed power over the player’s, which related
closely to the transactional leadership approach with the captain emanating the
message to ‘keep rank’ and for the player’s to ‘keep their distance’. As a result of
the transactional qualities shown previously by the captain (rules were set and
monitored) the player became cautious about breaking rules and therefore upsetting
the captain and the balance of their relationship (Bass, 1985; Bass, 1990; Bordieu,
1989).
Last thing I want to do is cause any discomfort especially between me and the
captain.
Result’s that were relevant to the specific habitus one took up within the team
suggested two specific approaches, firstly both player one and the captain had
similar techniques when it came to this aspect of social positioning:
Player one: I was just quiet to start with me I would let them have their say first, and
then I would say stuff.
24
Captain: I just stood right back, I just wanted to see what people were doing the
walking and what people were talking the talk. So I worked people out.
Despite the age difference between the captain and his player’s and past
experience, this approach taken suggested quite a safe and reserved way of
interacting but it also portrayed a calculative nature, neither player wanted to take
the risk of expressing themselves too much due to the new environment and
uncertainties attached to it. At this point it was important to shift the focus to the
captain and how this role was developed in order to influence his leadership role
within the team. The following quote exemplified the progression from the reserved
calculating role taken by the captain to the more confident and motivating and
powerful leadership approach:
People started to realise you know ‘I’ve started to play with him a few times’
and it’s sought of natural rugby really you become social with people and
good mates with them, so it has kind of progressed like that.Let them see
what you are about let them see what you can do.
Evidence from this quote can also suggest that the captain used his transformational
characteristics of leading from the front and by example, to positively influence his
position of power within the team:
Hopefully then they will follow you and they will trust you and be like ‘ok he
has got a bit of skill, and has something about him’.
The approach taken by the captain in search for his habitus within the team was very
calculated, and the interaction that he did take part in obviously positively impacted
upon his position in the team. Accentuating the relationship between habitus and
power it was also apparent that a reliance on playing ability was in place to impress
other teammates and to increase personal power and the position within the team.
25
CHAPTER V.
CONCLUSION.
5.0 Conclusion.
The study aimed to examine the player captain relationship with the consideration of
athlete leadership qualities and approaches and how they affected the relationship.
Considering firstly the leadership approach adopted by the captain, it was concluded
that a number of traits were combined from all three leadership approaches
addressed in the literature review. However it was evident that transformational
leadership characteristics were the dominant component expressed in the captain’s
leadership over the team, with some transactional qualities also shinning through
when it came to the organisation of the team showing that both leadership
approaches can be used alongside each other depending on the demand of the
situation. It can also be concluded that team leadership played a major role within
the team dynamic, the portrayal of regular team interaction surrounding decision
making on the pitch showed how this can be useful for a captain, however ultimately
it remained the captain’s call.
The results from the interviews showed two similar routes taken to occupy a habitus
within a team, and overall it can be said that despite the similar situations and similar
practises each individual is put throug, each habitus will be different and acquired in
an individualistic way. Furthermore the study also highlighted the power relationship
between the player and captain and how it was constantly changing due to the
variance of social situations. It became clear that the power balance altered inside
and out of the playing environment, and was also closely related to the leadership
approach in use during interaction between captain and player. The transformational
leadership approach allowed for more of an equal balance of power in the
relationship, with the captain’s aim being to motivate and inspire the player,
alternatively the use of transactional leadership qualities saw the possession of
power firmly in the captain’s grasp with players obeying every decision made.
26
5.1 Limitations and Recommendations.
Due to the qualitative nature of the study an air of subjectivity could be sensed as the
information gathered relied totally upon honest opinion from each interviewee.
Although a quantitative approach would not have addressed the intricate detail and
ambiguity of the power relationships within the team, it would have been fitting to
include more interviews in order to provide more trustworthiness by adding
informational weight to the evidence primarily discovered.
A second limitation of this research was due to the semi-structured technique used in
data collection, this enabled the opportunity for both interviewer and interviewee to
stray off course from the semi-structure, causing the gathering of irrelevant
information that was useless to the investigation. The study may have also been
limited theoretically by the lack of follow through from the interviewer when
recognition of relevant information was provided by the interviewee, in order to
correct this for future data collection the interviewer should take their time when
questioning, and listen intently to truly understand what the interviewee is saying.
Overall the research findings presented here furthered the knowledge surrounding
the power dynamic within the rugby team environment, they also provided evidence
which suggested that the leadership approach adopted by the captain had a direct
effect upon the power balance within the captain player relationship. Considering
each of the leadership approaches further research should address the power
relationship between team leaders and how the constant re-balancing of power can
affect performance within a rugby team.
27
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33
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX A.
APPENDIX A.
Participant Information Sheet.
Title of Project: The power relationship between captain and player in a university
rugby team.
Background
This study aims to explore the power relationship between captain and player within the
team environment alongside discovering the leadership approach adopted by the team or
captain.
Brief Review.
In brief I am looking at interviewing and recording a selection of players veiws on the team
and there relationship with the captain inside and out of the training environment, also with
the aim to figure out the leadership approach used within your team dynamic.
Why you have been asked.
You have been invited to take part in this research because it is thought that you will benefit
as a result. I will be following the progress of your rugby sessions and matches starting from
September 2011 the new season that you will be involved in.
What would happen if you agree to take part in the research?
If you agree to join the study, there are two main things that will happen.
1. You will be privately interviewed and recorded using a Dictaphone, and this will be done
whenever you are free.
2. Your feedback will be analysed with the aim to further research into the player captain
power relationship.
Are there any risks?
We do not think there are any significant risks to you from taking part in the study. If you are
unwell, we’d advise that you do not take part. And in any case if you do not want to do
anything that is asked of you just tell me.
Your rights
Joining the study does not mean that you give up any legal rights. In the very unlikely event
of something going wrong during the study, Cardiff MET fully indemnifies its staff, and
participants are covered by its insurance.
What happens to the results of the evaluation?
The interviews done will be filed away after the results have been taken. They will be coded
so that we can remove names, but we need to keep a record of the information given by the
player/captain as proof of the research. The results if requested, will be given to any
participant involved, however identity will be protected.
Are there any benefits from taking part?
Potentially there are benefits for you; the study will recognise the approach to leadership you
have within your team and how this affects the power relationship between you and your
captain, maybe therefore improving the relationship and perhaps as a result of this improving
performance in both training and game situations.
What happens next?
With this letter there is a consent form that needs to be completed in order for you to take
part in the study; this will be taken off you before the interviews begin.
How we protect your privacy:
As you can see I will respect your privacy. I have taken very careful steps to make sure that
you cannot be identified from any of the information that I have about you.
All the information about you will be stored securely away from the consent and assent
forms. At the end of the research study we will destroy the information we have gathered
about you and we will only keep the consent and assent forms with your name and address.
We keep these for ten years because we are required to do so by Cardiff MET.
Further information
If you have any questions about the research or how I intend to conduct the study, please
contact me.
Contact Information.
Name: Elliot Bee
Email: [email protected]
APPENDIX B.
APPENDIX B.
Informed Consent.
CONSENT FORM
Title of Project: Captain-player power relationship in the Cardiff MET
Fresher’s Rugby Team.
Name of Researcher:
Elliot Bee
Participant to complete this section:
Please initial each box.
1. I confirm that I have read and understand the information sheet
dated ………. for this evaluation study. I have had the opportunity to
consider the information, ask questions and have had these
answered satisfactorily.
2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and
that it is possible to stop taking part at any time, without giving a
reason.
3. I also understand that if this happens, our relationships with
Cardiff MET, or our legal rights, will not be affected.
4. I understand that information from the study may be used for
reporting purposes, but that I will not be identified.
5. I agree to take part in an interview and being part of the research.
________________________________________________
Name of person taking consent
________________________________________________
Signature of person taking consent
Date
APPENDIX C.
APPENDIX C.
Pilot Interview.
Int:
Hi there, just to start with could you please give your name and a brief description of your
position on the rugby field and who you play for?
Ye, my name is * and I play flanker for *.
Int:
So could you tell me how long have you played rugby for?
Ye, I’ve played for 8 years.
Int:
And what would you say is the highest standard you have played to be?
Regional standard probably, ye and county standard.
Int:
During this interview I will ask questions in relation to your captain, however have you
captained a team in the past?
Ye I have before, yes.
Int:
Ok, could you tell me about your relationship that you had with the rest of the players?
Umm, mostly a good relationship I’d say, sometimes there were problems like some lads got
quite competitive at times.
Int:
And why would you say that you were never chosen as a captain?
Um, not that sure really haha.
Int:
No worries, so what qualities would you look for in a captain?
Probably someone who leads from the front and obviously is a good player, and someone
who knows what there on about.
Int:
Could you tell me why you would look for these qualities?
Umm not sure really, because that’s what you want in a captain someone you can sort of
rely on.
Int:
So in relation to your current captain in the Fresher’s side talk to me a little bit about your
captain, how do you get on?
Umm, get on pretty well, we are mates.
Int:
If you were to describe your captain’s main attributes what would you say?
He’s quite a good player so can lead from the front, he’s always talking to you.
Leadership.
Int:
Ok moving on, considering the main attributes of your captain tell me what type of role he
takes on the pitch in a game situation?
Umm again I’d say he leads by example, motivates a lot and talks a lot to everyone.
Int:
Okay, could you tell me about your captain’s performance on the pitch in relation to you and
the rest of the players?
Umm, how do you mean?
Int:
Like what is his attitude or behaviour towards you when playing?
Um, he is encouraging and looks out for you on the pitch and stuff.
Int:
Right ok, umm, could you describe your captain’s approach to making a difficult decision on
the pitch?
Ye, he will take time and ask around the lads to see what they think and then make the call.
Int:
And when it comes to making a decision on the pitch how would your captain react if you
were to question his call?
Hrmm, um, he would be quite annoyed I think, well I would be!
Int:
Ye true, umm, what sought of language would he use in relation to this question?
I’d say he’s usually quite kind and will always be like, ‘come on, pick it up lads’ he will never
put you down.
Int:
Right, so could you provide an example for why you think he would use this type of language
towards you or another teammate?
Well like I said if we were struggling and losing a match he will try and keep us motivated
and tell us not to give up really.
Int:
I’ve found that some players back down after questioning the captain on one of his calls
during a match, what do you think of this?
Umm, not sure really, I guess the captain has the final say soo...
Int:
Ok so you think this is right to do so?
Ye I’d say so.
Int:
Alrite ok, so what would lead you to disobey the captain in the playing environment?
Um, haha, I guess he would have to be aggressive or be shouting down at me or something
like that, but he never does that so.
Int:
So why is it that you do what he asks of you when in this environment?
Well because he is the captain, he is in that role so you just do it.
Team Leadership.
Int:
Ok, moving on from that situation, could you cast your mind back to when you first arrived at
**, tell me about your recollection of the first training session with the Fresher’s team.
Umm, it was real busy, tones and tones of players so a lot of new faces! Can’t really
remember the session though, just that it was quite intimidating just because of how many
people showed up, I thought ‘I’ve got to do well to get in here!’.
Int:
Tell me about some of your first social encounters with other players outside of playing, how
was it that you found you could bond with others?
Um, most of the lads were on campus so just through that really, and I guess because some
of us came from the same place and knew some of the same people outside.
Int:
Some players find it necessary to wear kit from previous clubs when in a new playing
environment, why do you think this is?
Ha, umm, not sure, I think maybe to show how good they are and try and act like there not
scared of anyone else there orr, umm, ye.
Int:
I see, ok, well in relation to personal characteristics, what do you think you bring to the
team?
Hah, umm, quite dedicated I spose, and um, quite social you know getting on with everyone
well.
Int:
Ok, could you tell me why is it that you focus on bringing this to the team?
Um, well I’ve always been like it in any team really, just stayed the same, always got on well
with everyone.
Int:
Could you tell me about any players who stood out in the social environment, how did they
do this?
Umm, well maybe players who were a bit older or had played at a good standard, people
already knew this from what people had been saying and stuff like that.
Int:
Ok, so why do you think these players took that sought of role within the team?
Don’t know really, to set the standard or try and be like a leader I suppose, even though
most of them are’nt really like that now.
Int:
Being a fresher and new to rugby at **, have you noticed any sub-groups within the team
forming?
Um, ye a few, mostly friendship groups though.
Int:
Right so why do you think these sub-groups have formed?
Well mostly because they live close to each other I suppose and similar positions as well,
like the flankers sort of stick together and same with some of the backs.
Int:
Ye ye, moving on, say when called in for a team talk during a serious and intense training
session, maybe leading up to a big match, some individuals talk more than others why do
you think they do this?
Um maybe to get up for the game, or sometimes to help the rest of the team get motivated.
Team Leadership.
Int:
Looking now at the team and where it is progressing to, aside from the coaches whom do
you think is responsible for setting targets or goals within the team?
Well the captain of course, he usually helps with those sort of decisions.
Int:
Ye of course, can you tell me about the team goals and targets that have been set in relation
to the current season.
Well we usually just take each game as it comes, so mostly it is like short term goals, game
by game really.
Int
So why do you think it is important for every team member to be in agreement with these
goals?
Umm, well if you want to achieve a goal as a team then you need everyone to want to
achieve it you know, otherwise it’s pointless setting goals.
Int:
Ok, umm, now looking at the team outside of the playing environment tell me about the
importance of a team social.
Haha, well very important! Ye it’s useful because it gets everyone together and lets the boys
have a bit of a blow out.
Power and Habitus.
Int:
Ye everyone loves a social! Right ok, moving on now, what do you see as your responsibility
or role within the team?
Umm, well again to show like dedication to the team and at times help motivate the boys
before a big game you know.
Int:
I see, and does your captain like to take control of the team?
Umm, sometimes he steps in and puts his foot down, but most of the time he just lets us get
on with it.
Int:
Ok, so would you say you’re close with your captain?
Um, ye definitely we get on well, not as close as some others but we’re definitely mates.
Int:
That’s good, and do you trust you captain on the pitch?
Ye, he’s a good player so you can rely on him when it comes to it.
Int:
Has the captain ever asked for your opinion on anything during a game?
Umm, how do you mean?
Int:
Like when there has been a difficult decision or something has he approached you?
Hrmm na not really, he mostly just get’s on with it himself.
Int:
If so, why do you think he does this?
Well I think because it’s his decision at the end of the day, he is the captain and that’s his
job.
Int:
If not, why do you think he does not ask for your opinion on a decision making call?
Um, maybe because he prefers to make it himself, I just let him get on with it, he is the
captain after all.
Int:
Ok, well that’s everything I think, thank you *.
No worries.
APPENDIX D.
APPENDIX D.
Final Interview Transcript for Player.
Int:
Hi there, just to start with could you please give your name and a brief description of your
position on the rugby field and who you play for?
Int:
So could you tell me how long have you played rugby for?
Int:
And what would you say is the highest standard you have played to be?
Int:
During this interview I will ask questions in relation to yourself and your captain, is that ok
with you?
Int:
So just to start, what qualities would you look for in a captain?



Ability on the pitch.
Personality.
Experience.
Int:
Can you tell me why you would look for these qualities in a captain?


Would you react well to these qualities?
How would they benefit the team?
Int:
So in relation to your current captain in the Fresher’s side talk to me a little bit about your
captain, how do you get on?
Int:
If you were to describe your captain’s main attributes what would you say?
Leadership.
Int:
Considering the main attributes of your captain tell me what type of role he takes on the pitch
in a game situation?





Disciplinarian.
Motivator.
To socialise and bring people together.
Leadership characteristics.
What are these characteristics?
Int:
Could you tell me about your captain’s performance on the pitch in relation to you and the
rest of the players?



Leads by example through playing well
Authoritarian role
Democratic
Int:
Could you describe your captain’s approach to making a difficult decision on the pitch?


Does he consult other player’s?
Does he make it off his own back?
Int:
When it comes to making a decision on the pitch how would your captain react if you were to
question his call?
Int:
What sought of language would he use in relation to this question?



Does he tell you?
Would he use strong language?
Would he be considerate?
Int:
So could you provide an example for why you think he would use this type of language
towards your or another teammate?
Int:
Following on from this, how would you then react as a player to the captain’s response to
this question?
Int:
Some players back down after questioning the captain on one of his calls during a match,
what do you think of this?
Int:
What would lead you to disobey the captain in the playing environment?



An irrational call
Descent towards you or other players
Repetition of a poor call in your opinion
Int:
So why is it that you do what he asks of you when in this environment?


Purely because he is the captain?
To help out with the team and play your part.
Power and Habitus.
Int:
Ok, moving on from that situation, could you cast your mind back to when you first arrived at
**, tell me about your recollection of the first training session with the Fresher’s team.



How did you get involved?
Who did you approach?
Why?
Int:
Tell me about some of your first social encounters with other players outside of playing, how
was it that you found you could bond with others?



Were they friends from before University?
Did you stay with them?
Why?
Int:
Some players find it necessary to wear kit from previous clubs when in a new playing
environment, why do you think this is?
Int:
In relation to personal characteristics, what do you think you bring to the team?
Int:
Could you tell me why is it that you focus on bringing this to the team?
Int:
Could you tell me about any players who stood out in the social environment, how did they
do this?



Did you notice anybody trying to take control?
Did you take control?
Why do you think people/yourself automatically take that leadership role?
Int:
Why do you think these players took that sought of role within the team?
Int:
Being a fresher and new to rugby at **, have you noticed any sub-groups forming within the
team?


Are you involved in one yourself?
How would you describe your group?
Int:
If so why do you think these sub-groups have formed?


Is it to do with who people are living with on campus?
Maybe down to the ability of the players?
Int:
When called in for a team talk during a serious and intense training session, maybe leading
up to a big match, some individuals talk more than others why do you think they do this?






What role do you take in these talks?
Why?
They like to get there point across
They portray that they have a lot of experience and knowledge
They know people listen?
Why?
Team Leadership.
Int:
Looking now at the team and where it is progressing to, aside from the coaches whom do
you think is responsible for setting targets or goals within the team?
Int:
Tell me about the team goals and targets that have been set in relation to the current
season.
Int
Why do you think it is important for every team member to be in agreement with these
goals?
Int:
Looking at the team outside of the playing environment tell me about the importance of a
team social.
Int:
Everybody brings a different element to the team dynamic, talk to me about your
responsibility or role within the team?



Motivator
Leader
Play maker
Int:
How does your captain manage the team, for example does your captain like to take control
of the team?




How does he do this?
What sort of language does he use?
Is he aggressive towards his players?
Why do you think this?
Int:
Now looking at your relationship with the captain, how would you describe it?


Is he a friend outside of rugby?
Why do you think you are/not friends with him?
Int:
Do you trust you captain on the pitch?
Int:
Why is it that you trust your captain, could you provide an example?
Int:
Has the captain ever asked for your opinion on anything during a game?


Did he listen to it?
Did he put it into action?
Int:
How would you describe your captain’s approach to delegating decision making calls or
responsibilities to the team, say during a match situation?


For example, lineout calls.
Set moves.
Int:
If so, why do you think he does this?



Lack of knowledge?
He likes to please the players?
He considers all options before making an informed decision.
Int:
If not, why do you think he does not ask for your opinion on a decision making call?


He likes to have all decision making calls to be under his control.
He does not trust his players to make the right decision
APPENDIX E.
APPENDIX E.
Final Interview Transcript for the Captain.
Introduction.
1. Could you please give your name and a brief description of your position in the **
Fresher’s team?
2. So how long have you played rugby for?
3. Ok, and what would you consider to be the highest level you have played at to be?
4. Have you ever previously been captain of a team before you reached **?
5. How would you compare your previous experience as captain to your present experience
with ** Fresher’s?
6. I know that you are the captain as it stands, but how would you describe your ideal
captain?
7. How would you describe your style of captaincy?
8. Why would you say you were chosen as the captain over other player’s?
Leadership.
9. What do you think is the most important role that the captain has in any team?
10. Why do you think this is the case?
11. What would you say your best quality as captain is?
12. How do you think you have acquired this quality?
 Innate?
 Through past experiences?
13. Would you say that you are the only leader within the team?
14. Could you describe to me your role when you’re on the pitch in a match situation?
 Decision maker
 Play maker
 Disciplinarian
15. Why do you think as captain you are given the responsibility of making all the decisions?
16. So when it comes to making an important decision do you make it on your own?
17. If no, why do you think you want another player’s point of view?
18. If yes, why do you think you do this?
Power and Habitus.
19. Talk to me about when you joined the ** Fresher’s rugby team did you know anybody
before hand?
20. Looking at the social side of rugby, how did you react when meeting people for the first
time?
21. Why did you take this approach?
22. What was your attitude when attending the first ever session?
 Took a backseat role?
 Spoke a lot, and showed confidence?
23. What did you notice about the social dynamic at the first session, did anybody stand out
to you?
24. Why do you think they found it important to do this?
25. Were you confident that you would fit in with the crowd of player’s on first impressions?
26. If yes, why were you confident?
27. If no, why not?
Team Leadership.
28. In relation to the player’s and the social side of the team how would you describe the
relationship between the team members?
29. Talk to me about your relationship with your player’s.


Would you say you get on with them all equally?
Who would you go to if you were having a problem with rugby?
30. Have you noticed any sub-groups within the team?
31. Why do you think these have formed?
32. Do you consider yourself to be in one of these groups?
33. Do you socialise with the team outside of the rugby environment?
34. How do you think your players perceive you as captain?
35. Why do you think this?
36. How important do you think trust is on and off the pitch between you and your players?
37. Why do you think this?
38. Who would you look to first to help you make a decision?
39. Why would you choose them?
APPENDIX F.
APPENDIX F.
Interview 1, Player one.
Open Coding.
Q1. Int: Ok, just to start off with could you give your name and a brief description of
your position on the rugby field.
Player: **, fly half/fullback, and I player for ** Fresher’s team.
Q2. Int: Ok, um, how long have you played rugby for then?
Player: 10 years.
Q3. Int: 10 years, a long time then yes.
Q4. Int: So what would be the highest standard that you’d say you’ve played at?
Player: Welsh exiles’.
Q5. Int: Welsh exiles’ ok nice.
Q6. Int: Just during the interview I am going to ask questions in relation to your
captain, and your relationship between you and your captain, is that ok with you?
Player: Ye.
Q7. Int: Ok, umm, so just to start what qualities would you look for in a captain?
Player: Umm, someone who can lead on the field, and who knows what’s going on.
Umm, like not afraid to be out there, talks to the ref, talks to his players so everyone
knows what they’re doing.
Q8. Int: Ok.
Q9. Int: Umm, so why would you look for these sought of qualities in a captain? And
Price (2011),
would you react well to these qualities as a player?
Player: Um, yeh if I knew someone who is actually understood the game and they
were there as a leader rather than the best player, I sometimes prefer that.
leader not
necessarily
chosen on
ability status.
Q10. Int: So looking in relation to your current captain in the fresher’s side, I know
you have had a few because it has been chopping and changing a little bit, umm talk
to me a bit about your captain and how you get on. Like, do you get on would you
say?
Player: When I have been at games that i haven’t captained I’ve got on with it, like
sometimes if I take a step back like in grand prix tournaments, it’s sought of harder
Morgan & Smircich
for me not to talk to the captain, as I have been in that position myself.
Q11. Int: So looking at when you have not actually been in that role yourself,
what would you say your captain’s main attributes were?
(1982) competing
individuals,
um,
leadership cannot
evolve.
Player: Um, they have been vocal, they have sought of lead from the front, always
being like the first person to put a big hit in, and been motivating to everyone else.
Q12. Int: So leading mostly by example, would you say?
Player: Yeh.
Transformational Leadership :
Zacharatos et al,. (2000) leader
as a motivator.
Q13. Int: Ok, Umm considering these sought of main attributes, like leading by
example, umm, tell me what type of role he takes on the pitch in like a game
situation , so he leads by example can you give any other attributes aswell?
Player: Umm
Q14. Int: Like looking at maybe disciplining the players or is he a bit of a motivator at
times?
Player: Yeh, like in the changing rooms and stuff like that, motivation getting the
boys ready for the game, umm, on the field he can be quite quiet, but is
always there
Transformational
Leadership
quality.
Inspirational
motivation.
talking.
Q15. Int: Why do you think he is quite quiet?
Player: Because he just tends to just like take a step back and see what the boys do
first and then talk to them afterwards, instead of just talking all the time, because
sometimes if that happens the boys will be like, ‘oooh he’s on there again talking’, so
Frieberg (1999) followers are a
he just takes a step back and..
Q16. Int: So just let the boys get on with it, and then have an
source of variance, also considers
theafter
players
opinion, a
input
that?
transformational leadership
component.
Player: Yeh, then he’d put his discipline in and set the structures and that.
Q17. Int: Right, ok, umm could you tell me a little bit about your captain’s
performance on the pitch, in relation to you and the rest of the players.
Player: Um, sometimes he has good games and that, like leading by example again,
but other games sometimes the pressure can get to him, being a captain and making
wrong decisions like going for points instead of going for the corner and stuff like
that.
Q18. Int: Ok, Um what’s his reaction when he is faced with a difficult decision what
does he do, if you can look at him and tell that he is struggling a little bit, what does
he do?
Player: Umm, mostly looks to his fly half, because they like run the game.
Q19. Int: So maybe another leader within the team?
Use of Team leadership, especially if he
makes an error himself, Gupta (2010).
Player: Normally the goal kicker as well to see if they can get it then you have got to
back them.
Q20. Int: So he consults other players?
Player: Yeh.
Howell & Dorfman (1981),
joint leadership can cause
confusion impacting the
team.
Q21. Int: umm, so when he is making a decision on the pitch, umm that maybe you
don’t quite agree with, umm how would he react if you sought of questioned him?
Player: Um, he would take it on board and then use it for the next decision, like if we
get another penalty maybe we have kicked points for the one, and next time we have
said, oh we will go for the corner say if they have got a man in the bin, then he might
just think about it.
Q22. Int: Ok say you have asked, or you’ve seen the captain make a few mistakes
and then sought of when he is coming to make another decision, and you can tell he
is struggling and you question that would he then sought of step back a bit would you
say, would he step back and let you take more of a leadership role just because
maybe you know slightly more about the position on the field?
Player: Ye sought of, and like he is obviously going to have an input, but he will take
everything else on board and then possibly again talk to his fly half, see what they
Collective decision making, use of
think and then collectively come to a decision.
team leadership. Yukl (1999).
Q23. Int: Ok, so what sought of language would he use in relation to this question,
once you have asked him, or questioned, ‘oh that’s probably not the right sought of
call to go for’ how does he react to that, what sought of language does he use?
Player: Um, can be quite defensive, because we have questioned his decision, but
also he does take it on board eventually when he gets round to making the next
Due to competition for leadership.
decision.
Morgan & Smircich (1981).
Q24. Int: Ok, umm, following on from this how would you then react as a player to
the captain’s response to you question, so say if he was quite defensive, umm how
would you react to that on the pitch?
Bordieu & Wacquant (1996) confrontation of actors
in the social field, equates to the balance of power.
Player: Um, at first you may be quite shocked, and his behaviour may change like
towards you during the game, but mostly it is meaningless, but it is about getting the
right decisions on the field.
Q25. Int: ok, so it’s all within that environment, say umm, would that behaviour still
linger after the match, would that put an awkwardness between you?
Player: No, because mostly during the games different things happen, and what
goes on the field more or less stays on there, so when you get off the field you go
back to being best mates, does not really make a difference.
Q26. Int: Umm, some players may back down after like questioning the captain on
one of his calls in the match, umm, what do you think of this?
Siisiäinen (2000) active involvement in the
group improves social positioning, therefore
competition for leadership. (Morgan &
Smircich (1982)
Player: Um, I think everyone has got the right to say what they think, um, like you’re
all playing the game at the same time, so if you have got something to say to the
captain why not say it?
Q27. Int: And you’d fell like, you yourself would always question the captain if he
was making that wrong call, or would you take a backseat role and let him get on
with it?
Player: Um, nah I would always question him on why he’d do it. Because
sometimes being at fullback you can see the whole game and see how it is panning
out, so id question him and might give him ideas, or he might think ‘ok I’ll listen to
that’ because this player can see what is going on here.
Team leadership; interact interdependently
towards a common objective (Webber &
Donahue, 2001).
Q28. Int: Ok, umm, so in relation to these last questions, um, what would lead you to
disobey your captain in the playing environment?
Transformational leadership
quality, an inspirational leader,
(Bass, 1985).
Player: Um, it depends really if he is not comfortable in that position, and possibly
you might try and do different things yourself, but if he is confident in that position,
even if he is not calling the right decisions, if he is confident and everyone else
seems to be listening to him we will obey him but, if he is not confident and takes a
backseat we might try and do other things.
Q29. Int: Ye, so you know if he’d made an irrational call maybe or something, or if he
started to lose his head a bit in relation to other player’s, what would your reaction be
towards that?
Player: I would get more defensive with the other players, you’d back the others.
Q30. Int: Sought of stick together?
Team leadership, another port of call on the pitch if the
relationship is not good between player and captain.
Player: Because you have always got a vice captain on the field, so if you’re not
getting on with the captain you can speak to the vice captain who can then go and
talk to the captain.
Q31. Int: So you have always got that other point of call if you’re not quite seeing
eye to eye.
Q32. Int: Ok, in the whole playing environment, um why is it that you do what the
captain says?
Player: Because they are the leader, the coach has given them the position on the
field, they are sought of like coaching within the field of play, the coach has put them
in charge, so if the coach does not know what to do and needs to talk to the players,
he can go to his captain and he can portrait that message to everyone else.
Q33. Int: So the captain’s almost like another sought of coach figure in the team, is
that specific to the fresher’s or has that been the same when you have had a
captain?
Player: Ye they have always been there to debate with the coach about things, or
the coach has been there to tell him, and they have always told us what the coach
has been saying.
Q34. Int: Ok moving on from that situation, um I just want you to cast your mind back
to when you first arrived at **, and just tell me about your recollection of the first
training session with the fresher’s team, so like how you got involved and stuff like
that.
Player: Umm, I first came and I was here for pre-season so I sought of got to know
all like the 3rd and 2nd year boys first, so when training with the fresher’s was
obviously quite a step down because the standard of play was a bit different and
there were so many more player’s there so it was sometimes hard to meet new
people, I struggled a bit with that, but eventually I got used to it and started being
with the boys a bit more often and um started getting little groups together of like
who is going to be playing in which teams, and it sought of made things easier.
Q35. Int: So what do you think the players thought of you, what do you think there
perception was, because obviously they knew that you had come from the 1 st and
2nd’s training in pre-season.
Player: They probably thought that I was quite arrogant like the big time person, but
I didn’t try and do that.
Q36. Int: How did you counteract that opinion?
Surrendered his power so that others could
gain a position within the team. (Morgan &
Smircich, 1982).
Player: I was just quiet to start with, other boys who had been training with the
fresher’s longer than me I would let them have their say first, and then I would say
stuff in relation to what the 1st’s and 2nd’s had been doing in training.
Q37. Int: Maybe taking a backseat to see how everyone get’s on was it?
Player: Ye.
Q38. Int: Ok, tell me about some of your first social encounters with other players
outside of playing, so how was it that you thought you could bond with others?
Player: Um, well we literally all organised and went on a night out, all the fresher
boys got together. The first time we didn’t go out with the rest of the ** RFC we just
stayed as fresher’s, and we all got a good bond straight from there.
In order to be effective team members need to perceive
themselves as being part of the team and perceived as such
by others. (Kerr & Tindale, 2004).
Q39. Int: Why do you think you were able to bond straight away?
Player: Because we stayed as just fresher’s we were all in the same situation, so
like we were all new to university, not many people knew each other so we had to
put ourselves out there to talk to other people.
Q40. Int: So it was mostly down to you all being in the same situation, not being
forced, but you all felt like you could get along because you were all there at once?
Player: Yes.
Q41. Int: Ok, what did you notice about the kit that people wore, like when I first
arrived at ** Fresher’s I noticed that you have tones of player’s coming from all over
the country, what did you notice about some of the kit from previous clubs?
Player: Um, the first couple of session’s people were wearing all the kit from the
team that they have played the highest standard for, so there was a couple of boys
wearing their midlands or England kit
Bordieu (1989), different volumes of capital brought to
the team. They are a product of their habitus.
on and Welsh kit, obviously trying to prove a point that they have been there, like ‘I
should be better than you because I have played this standard’ but it doesn’t always
work like that.
Q42. Int: So looking in relation to personal characteristics, um what do you think that
you bring to the team in the social environment?
Player: Um, to be honest on the social side I am quite quiet, I tend to like the training
which is a bit unusual sometimes, but I like training and playing and being social with
the boys on that side, sometimes I am not too keen on going out because things can
happen.
Q43. Int: Ok so a bit detrimental to training maybe, so how would you answer that
question in relation to training and in the training environment, what would you say
you bring to the team?
Player: Um, I try and motivate the boys, because some people will mess about in
training and you know the boys who are going to do that, so I try and get everyone
doing the same thing and not annoy the coach as well, so everyone is listening and
doing the jobs right.
Q44. Int: So helping to direct the team to whatever goals have been set?
Player: Ye.
Q45. Int: Ok, so looking back again to when you first came, which was not long ago
as it has gone very quick hasn’t it!
Player: Yes
Q46. Int: Could you tell me about any players who stood out in the social
environment, we will look at within the team and in training session.
Player: Um, it tended to be like the boys who are older, because there are quite a
few of us now who have literally just come out of school and come straight into it, but
like the boys who have had a year out they always seem to be like the social side
leaders, and they have always been there like talking to everyone trying to get
everyone together. They are the sought of boys you sought of look to for like social
events and that.
Q47. Int: So they took control of that social environment, so how did they do that,
how did they get the boys together?
Player: They sought of knew more people outside of the university, so they were
able to put on these events and people would be able to sought us out, and they
would refer back to the whole team and get everyone involved.
Q48. Int: So, um, basically you are saying you are fairly quiet in the social
environment and the lads who are older, so due to age they took control of it and
helped you interact with others would you say?
Player: Yes that’s it.
Q49. Int: So why do you think those players’ sought of took that role, I know they are
older but do you think that may have been in order to be noticed?
Player: Ye it could be that like get some of the boys on their side to elect them to be
captain, although they are just social guys, um they try and put themselves out there
to try and get as many friends as well, as they are in the same situation again as
A situation where individuals start to
compete for leadership, Morgan & Smircich
(1982) claim that leadership cannot evolve
in this situation.
everyone else. But if they have more people talking to them then they will have the
most friends at the end of it.
Q50. Int: So like social networking if anything?
Player: Ye.
Player: So, being new to rugby at **, have you noticed any sub-groups forming within
the team, so groups actually within the team socially wise?
Q51. Int: Um, ye sought of like because, it sought of where they live on campus, like
boys who are like a block or two blocks away from each other they seem to socialise
a lot more, which no doubt that would happen, some of us are out of the way off
campus, and there is only like one or two of us there, so it is sometimes harder for us
to go down to their place and sought of like be accepted but we know everyone is
accepted everywhere, but sometimes you can feel a bit out of place.
Q52. Int: And that’s purely down to where you live?
Player: Ye, purely location.
May have had an effect upon cohesion
and performance as he did not feel
completely part of the team due to
location. (Kerr & Tindale, 2004).
Player: But within the training environment everyone just feels the same.
Q53. Int: Have you noticed maybe any sub-groups, like from my own experience in
the forwards, they were always very close knit, do you notice any sub-groups in the
team in that sought of sense?
Player: Not so much with that but, because we have got two fresher sides, and that
fifteen or twenty of each side sought of bond more together at training rather than
everyone mixing, so it’s not so much positional it’s more squad, um so 1st’s and 2nd’s
will stay together and the 3rd and 4th guys will stay together as well.
Q54. Int: Ok, right, um, so looking at the team talk in a training session, when called
in for a team talk during say like an intense session um, maybe like leading up to a
big match or something, some individuals may talk a lot more than others, why do
Transformational leadership skills shown when
you think they may do this?
motivating some members during training.
Player: Um, I think again it’s trying to motivate the boys and get them up for the big
game that is coming up, um because majority of the games are must win games, like
some boys will take a backseat and be like ‘ahh it’s only training’ whereas I just want
to play, like you have got to train hard to play hard so they have got to be able to do
that on the training field.
Q55. Int: What sought of role would you say you take in like a team talk?
Player: Um, I’m not the biggest fan of..I can’t really motivate other player’s as much,
like I prefer to..like on game days I sought of just stay there myself and just be quiet,
but sometimes you do have to try and motivate the boys and that and get into them.
Q56. Int: So do you notice maybe individuals who stand out, and why do you think
those individuals take that role of motivating?
Player: I think it is just how you approach things, some people approach it differently
to others and it is just individual characteristics at the end of the day.
Q57. Int: So what sought of characteristics would you say those people have?
Player: I think they are more outgoing and they um, they want to get other people
motivated rather than themselves, and so they are trying to get the whole team
motivated and maybe there motivation will catch on as well. Transformational characteristics show,
Q58. Int: Oh I see what you mean, ok.
also relates to the collective influence of
team members on each other.
(Sivasubramaniam, Murry, Jung, & Avolio,
2002)..
Q59. Int: Ok, right looking now at say the team that you’re in at the moment and
where it is progressing to, um, aside from the coaches who do you think is
responsible for setting targets or goals within the team?
Player: Um, there is sought of like a group of, not so much senior players but guys
who the coach talks to more often than others and they sought of go together and
make these goals of what we do, but there not normally long term goals there usually
what we do game by game. So like this game you have to do that to get to the top of
the table, and then to secure our place at the top of the table we have to do this.
Q60. Int: Ok, I see, so why do you think it’s just certain players, you know, what is so
special about them?
Player: I think it is just a mixture from the sides, so we have not just got one person
saying we have to do this we have to do that, they have got views coming from four
sides at least, and everyone needs to know what is going on. People can talk to our
captain who can then refer to the coach, so like they get views from everyone.
Q61. Int: Um, so tell me about some of the team goals and targets that have been
set, like in relation to the current season.
Player: Mostly just at Christmas we wanted to be top of both the BUCS tables and
the grand prix, that was the goal we set from the start.
Q62. Int: Is that what has happened?
Player: In both league’s in the BUCS we are both top, um, I think in the Grand Prix in
the one we are top and the other we are second, so we have sought of achieved our
goals.
Q63. Int: Right, Ok, so you have achieved your targets, in relation to the targets why
do you think it is important for every team member to be in agreement with these
goals?
Transformational leadership: individualised
consideration, he listened to the team and
considered there viewpoint. (Zacharatos,
Balling & Kelloway, 2000).
Player: It’s just like team cohesion, if someone doesn’t agree with it they then have
to say why they don’t agree with it, so they can just like express their feelings, and
then everyone else either thinks, ‘ok we can change that goal slightly’ or they should
have to live with the goal, and you have to try and motivate them to try and succeed
it.
Q64. Int: So, what would happen would you say if a couple of players weren’t in
agreement with one of the targets set or one of the goals, how would they sought of
get that across?
Player: I think, they probably would group together and think of a goal we could set
instead and then speak to the captain, or like have a team discussion about it, I think
everyone is open to their opinion and everyone listen’s to each other, and at the end
of the day if we have to change that goal then we will change it.
Q65. Int: Ok, then how would you think your captain would react to a couple of
player’s not sought of agreeing with the goals that have been set?
Player: Firstly he would be a bit like, ‘well you have to go with this goal because that
is what the team and the whole squad have elected’ if it is just a minority, but if it has
started to get a bit bigger and more people have taken that side then he has got to
readjust the situation.
Q66. Int: Ok, right, um, you did sought of say that you were not a big fan of the
outside social, um but just looking, why do you think it is important that maybe now
and again after a couple of weeks or a big match that you have that sought of team
social outside.
Player: Because you have got to keep everyone together, the more you get to know
each other outside the rugby environment the better you will be able to trust each
other, the more you will be able to sought of help each other on the field, you begin
to know each other’s weaknesses and strengths so you will be able to back each
other up.
When subordinates trust leaders,
subordinates are willing to take risks to
achieve the objectives (Zand, 1997).
Due to regular interaction trust was built
within the team.
Q67. Int: So basically making friends outside of the rugby environment um, actually
helps in the rugby environment itself.
Player: Yes.
Q68. Int: Um, alright, how does your captain sought of manage the team, for
example does your captain like to take control of the team and sought of be like the
voice of reason?
Player: Um, ye he tries to be like the voice of reason, he leads from that position as
well, so he will always talk to his player’s and also the ref, and will be going back and
forth between ref and player’s and make sure that we are doing it right, and if the ref
wants to say something then he will refer to the captain, and the captain will be like
‘ok boys watch out on this, or do this a bit better’ and sought of just motivate the
boys on the field as well.
Transformational leadership qualities
are shown on the pitch, individualised
consideration and inspirational
motivation (Zacharatos et al,. 2000).
Q69. Int: So, does he ever become sought of aggressive, how would you describe
his views on the pitch?
Player: Umm, no I wouldn’t say he’d be like aggressive towards his own player’s as
such, possibly be aggressive towards the opposite players, but to his own players
nah.
Q70. Int: Could you describe how he is on the pitch maybe in a tense situation?
‘the leader’s action may generate a variety of interpretations that
set the basis for meaningful action’ (Morgan & Smircich, 1982.
p262). In this instance the meaningful action from the players is
to replicate the captain’s behaviour.
Player: Um, in a tense situation he stays relaxed, like if he started showing worry
then all of the other players will be worried, so if they start and be relaxed then all the
other boys will be like ‘oh alright we’ve got plenty of time to do this and we can just
build off it’.
Q71. Int: Ok, now just looking at your relationship with your current captain how
would you describe it?
Player: Um, I would say we have a good relationship, on and off the field as well,
umm so like if you have a good relationship on and off the field you are always going
to get on.
Q72. Int: So why do you think you are friends with him outside of the rugby
environment?
Player: Um, don’t know, just got the same thought patterns and have the same
ideas of things to do.
Can familiarise with his captain and
perceives himself to be in a good
relationship with his captain.
Q73. Int: So sought of common interests then?
Player: Ye
Q74. Int: So on the pitch would you trust your captain?Has trust in the captain, captain’s confidence
commands authority and therefore the player
complies. Confidence is a Transformational
leadership quality.
Player: Ye
Q75. Int: Why would you trust him?
Player: Because he always feels confident about the decisions he’s making so if
he’s confident with that then, you think ‘ahh he knows what he is talking about’.
Q76. Int: So as long as he is confident about it, then that sought of instils confidence
in you?
Player: Ye.
Q77. Int: Right, ok, so has the captain, maybe struggling with a decision during the
game, has he ever asked for maybe your opinion on it, does he approach you, how
would that work?
Player: Um, probably not personally, as the captain is in the forwards he might talk
to his forwards or his flyhalf, just because they are easier to approach, as being a full
back perhaps I am too far back to approach in that situation, I would say I would
approach him myself rather than him come to me.
Leadership characteristics, like effective
Q78. Int: Maybe he is approachable then in that way?
Player: Ye.
communication and being respectful to
teammates when approached have influenced
actual leadership behaviour. (Chelladurai, P.
1993).
Q79. Int: So in relation to like asking his forwards like you said, would you say he
would delegate his decision making calls or responsibilities to the rest of the team, or
is he someone who is very authoritarian and wants to just have all the decisions off
his own head?
Player: Sometimes depends on like the situations on the field, mostly players know
what is going to happen off a certain penalty, but say like when you are getting
closer and we went for a scrum or lineout and we messed that up the captain would
take note and would say ‘sorry that was my fault, probably should have come to
The captain’s actions provided an opportunity
speak to you boys first’.
Int: Oh, ok.
for the follower to interpret his own action.
(Morgan & Smircich, 1982).
Q80. Int: Um, so why is it that he would delegate on the pitch?
Player: Um, say if you’re a back and we are 5 meters out and we know we can have
them out wide then we will say to the captain, and he will be like ‘ok if you think you
can do it then go for it’.
Q81. Int: So he is quite willing to let you make that decision on your own.
Int: Ok well I think that is all *, thank you very much.
APPENDIX G.
APPENDIX G.
Interview Two, Player Two.
Open Coding.
Q1. Int: Ok, Hi there, just to start with can you give your name and a brief description of your
position on the rugby field and who you play for?
Player: Ye, my name is ** I play for * fresher’s, my position is an 8 regularly playing under *,
the captain of the 1st‘s.
Q2. Int: Right, um so could you tell me how long you have played rugby for?
Player: Um, four years.
Q3. Int: Four years? Is that all..you seem like you have been playing a lot longer.
Player: Ye I took a massive break out of sport, to be honest with you, and put on a load of
weight so my Dad said I had to go back into rugby!
Q4. Int: Haha, good work though, you have done well!
Q5. Int: So what would you say the highest sought of standard you have played at to be?
Player: I have had two trials with Wales, under 16’s and under 18’s, I was in the training
squad for both of those. Both times I was told I was too short for the position of back row,
and they suggested that I move to prop!
Q6. Int: Haha, but ye that is a good standard, Id be pleased with that.
Q7. Int: Just during this interview I am going to ask questions about your relationship with
your captain..um..is that ok with you?
Player: Ye that’s fine.
Q8. Int: Orite, ok to kick things off, what qualities would you look for in a captain in general
would you say?
Player: Urgh, well lead by example would be the most important thing I mean, what you
really don’t want is a captain in the changing rooms telling you things that they don’t do
themselves, so if there talking about keeping your discipline and they are regularly giving
away penalties themselves, you are going to stop listening to them in most aspects of the
game.
Q9. Int: Right so you’d say, if there...basically practice what you preach?
Player: Ye, ye.
Q10. Int: Um, so why would you look for that aspect in a captain?
Player: Well there the one making the decisions, in lineout’s and most of the calls in the
game plan, so if they’re telling you to do this..this..and this you want to know that they’re
giving something back as well, and that they’re playing there part so you can play yours
effectively, you know if they said ‘right we are going to tighten up in defence, we are not
going to let anything through our line’ but then they’re missing the first up tackles, it’s going
to give you a lot less confidence in your role, and a lot less confidence in listening to them
making decisions.
Q11. Int: Ok, so in relation to *, um, talk to me a little bit about him, and how do you get on
with him?
Player: Ye *, to be fair he is really professional when it comes to his captain role, as soon as
he is in that captain position he does take it really seriously, you know he doesn’t mess
about, he still gets on with the lads really well and I think the lads really respect him when he
is talking you listen, he doesn’t tend to say too much but when he does say something you
listen to him.
He has built respect from his players
through his ability on the pitch and his
given role.
Q12. Int: So, like, looking at that what are his main attributes, if you were to describe him
down to a ‘t’ how would you?
Player: um, respectable, honest, hardworking, his work rate on the field is unbelievable you
know, going back to leading by example you do notice this. Also level headed, he is always
really level headed, like in the last game against ** there were quite a few fights kicking off,
but he was constantly telling you before every scrum, ‘keep your head, keep your head, we
are here to play rugby’ so you know, he was telling us not to listen to the crowd either, as we
had quite a following and they were shouting, ‘smash them, smash them’ but he kept it quite
level telling us to not listen.
Q13. Int: And that helped you?
Player: Yeh definitely helped me, I came on as a sub and seeing all these fights going on I
was quite wound up, the second I came on it was a scrum, and I was in the second row with
him, first thing he said to me was ‘keep you head and calm down’ he said ‘just get round the
next ruck’ and that was what I needed.
Transformational leadership quality,
individual consideration shown on the pitch.
(Zacharatos, Balling & Kelloway, 2000).
Q14. Int: That’s what you need ye, you don’t want to go losing your head and get sent back
off do you!
Player: Ye, exactly.
Q15. Int: So, what sought of role, considering these attributes, how does his performance
help with this?
Player: His performance in general or?
Q16. Int: Ye his performance actually on the pitch.
Player: Like I said he is a really hard working player, you don’t see him making many
mistakes, he get’s round the pitch well and he positions himself well, he knows what he is
doing at second row. In the lineout’s, you can definitely rely on him in the lineout’s.
Q17. Int: So his performance is always more or less pretty high?
Player: Yeh it’s always high, you know he does quite a few stand out things, he doesn’t
have many quiet periods, you know especially if you look left or right down the line he is
always a good player to have next to you.
Q18.Int: Ok, so when it comes to say making a difficult decision on the pitch, what would
you say his approach is as a captain?
Player: Like if he’s got a decision and that will be..if there is a decision to be made then he
will just make it and get on with it and he will expect everybody else to get on with it, if it is
the wrong decision then you still have got to go through with it as it is his decision at the end
of the day.
Transactional leadership, has been
placed in that position so it is his role
and others have to follow.
Q19. Int: So you wouldn’t say that he consults others?
Player: Um, not during the game, if there is a break in the game or half time or before the
game, because we have meetings before games, then he will take on board any suggestions
or anything else but in the game that is it, he’s taken on board any suggestions you’ve had
so he’s going to make his decision based on that he’s not going to change it now as he does
not want too much debate or discussion on the field as it will confuse things.
Q20. Int: Ok, so he is really down the line about it.
Team leadership; interact interdependently towards
a common objective (Webber & Donahue, 2001).
Relates to interview 1 Q18.
Q21. Int: So if he was to make a decision on the pitch, how would he react if you were to
question him?
Player: I think he would have a quick listen, but if it wasn’t relevant or he didn’t..well that’s
not right..he would just dismiss it and say nah let’s just get on with it. And if it is the wrong
decision it’s the wrong decision it’s his call.
Q22. Int: He sees it as his role to..
Player: Ye.
Q23. Int: So what sought of language on the pitch does he use with you guys?
Player: Um, he is always really positive he doesn’t criticize at all..
Q24. Int: Why do you think he doesn’t?
Transformational leadership qualities
shown, raised his players expectation of
what they can achieve. (Zacharatos et
al,. 2000). ‘Followers want to feel
empowered’ (Bass, B, 1985. p11).
Relates to Q24.
Player: I think it is to keep confidence high, if you’ve just made a mistake, especially as I
have only just broke into that squad, um coming on the pitch you don’t want to feel like
you’re not trusted, when I first got on in the first scrum he was like ‘come get on with it’ you
know ‘get round the first ruck’ I kind of felt like he trusted me in that role, to defend that part
of the pitch and then I felt a bit more confident in doing it.
Q25. Int: Ok and you sought of feel a little bit of a bond there between you and your captain.
Player: Ye, that’s what you want to do you want to be going into a team feeling part of that
team, you don’t want to be feeling like an outsider, because I think our team is very close as
a squad so we don’t tend to have that problem too much, but it is always nice to have it
reinforced.
Q26. Int: Ok, perfect, um so following on from this how would you react as a player to the
captain’s response to this question, so you’ve approached the captain while he is making a
decision and said, ‘** that’s not the right way to go’ how do you react when he says ‘this is
my decision that’s what it is going to be’.
Player: Um, it depends on the situation really, if the situation was he has made this call a
few times and it hasn’t worked, and then I say ‘we should try this’ and he still dismisses it,
then I’d feel a bit annoyed that he has just ignored me, as I may feel that my idea would fix
the problem.
Q27. Int: How would you then, if he was doing this constantly and maybe other team
members were thinking right, this is the third time he has done this, how would you go about
this situation?
Player: I think I would talk to him but not in front of the team I would at half time or a break in
the game, I’d have a quick talk and say ‘look this isn’t working don’t you think we should try
this..’ but if he still ignores you there is nothing more you can do I’d just get on with it, you
know he has been put in that role for a reason.
Q28. Int: Ok, just let him...
Player: Ye at least he is making a decision, if there is a split ‘I don’t want to go with that
decision I want to go with my own decision’ then there is not going to be any decisions
made, it is his role at the end of the day even if you disagree with it, I’d let him know.
Q29. Int: So you feel like you can approach him?
Player: Ye, you can definitely tell him stuff, even on the pitch even though he is quite like ‘it’s
my decision’ if you have something to say wait until..you know we always have huddles
before the lineout, he will make his call there and that’s it he will expect you to just get on
with it, you wouldn’t try and put in any suggestions there unless it’s the Hooker, he will take
on board what the Hooker says. If the Hooker says ‘oh there is too much wind’ then he will
listen to him. That’s the only person he will listen to.
Example of team leadership (Webber & Donahue,
Q30. Int: Ok so if it affects his performance?
2001) based upon another individuals’ ability on
the pitch, shows trust in him.
Player: Ye he’s the only person he will listen to if there is any feedback to him.
Q31. Int: Ok that is interesting, um just moving on from that situation, I’m just going to ask
you if you could cast your mind back to when you first arrived at UWIC, can you tell me
about your recollection of your first training session with the Fresher’s.
Player: Ye it was a really big squad, the first training session was huge had about 160
people there, like a ridiculous amount of players, that was when I was kind of worried about
the standard here, because I turned up and I heard a couple of lads talking through there
CV, you know I played England this England that, people getting paid by some clubs, I kind
of stood there thinking how am I going to fit into this team, but uh as the session went on I
thought ‘Just go for it’ as I had nothing to lose, as I have to try and make an impact here.
Q32.Int: So how did you make that impact?
Occupied a specific habitus (Bordieu &
Passerson, 1977) as a result of specific
interactions and perceptions of others in
the group.
Player: I just tried to be vocal, the drills were relatively simple to begin with so the only way
you could sought of make yourself stand out is to be vocal and try and communicate as
much as possible.
Q33. Int: Right ok, I found that when I was a fresher, as you said with the CV, I noticed that
with the kit?
Player: Ye they call it...stash! A lad downstairs in my flat, he has a big box full of different kit,
however most of that kit isn’t from teams that he has played for he has just picked it up from
different places!
Q34. Int: So why do you think they do it?
Player: Um, I don’t know, I’ve only got kit from teams that I have played for, and even then
all my Wales tracksuits are at home because I don’t want them to get ruined. I brought a
couple of my North Wales hoodies and my Wrexham shirt’s. I think at the start they want it to
be like ‘oh look he’s wearing a bath kit, does he play for bath?! Oh he must be a good player’
you know that kind of thing! That would be why, you see a lot of lads now, some of them
have brought the UWIC kit and some of them don’t even play for UWIC, like I haven’t even
brought the whole kit I just have the shorts and the socks!
Q35. Int: So for you it’s not really about showing off?
Player: No, if anyone asks then ye I will tell them, but I won’t go looking out for attention with
the UWIC kit.
Q36. Int: Ok, so looking back at when you first came again, can you tell me about some of
your first social encounters with other player’s maybe outside of the pitch, maybe in the
playing environment or even outside of that, how did you find you could bond with others?
A competition for status within the team
initially, process of discovering the
volume of social capital each individual
possesses. (Bordieu, 1989).
Player: Um, at that start it was really quite tense because you are trying to figure each other
out, and the first question you sought of ask is obviously ‘name’ and then you ask ‘what
position do you play?’ that was always the first question I found that with a lot of player’s,
and it would be like a really tense sought of awkward moment, and if they are like ‘oh I play
back row’ then it will almost be like sizing each other up, but I got on fine with everyone.
Q37. Int: Why did you find that you could get involved so easily?
Player: Well I think it was because we were all in the same boat kind of thing, at the end of
the day you have got to be in the same team no matter how you fit into that team you are
going to have to work with these people.
Q38. Int: So would you say it is almost forced?
Individuals are placed within a social space experiencing
the same social conditions therefore producing the same
practises; individual becomes adjusted to a position
within the team. (Bordieu, 1989).
Player: Um, I wouldn’t say, well with a couple of lads at the start, there was a couple of lads
there that I thought ‘I might not get on with you’ because of their attitude in general, some of
them seemed quite arrogant you know, because of the whole CV thing, ‘ye fair enough you
play for these, but you don’t have to constantly go on about it!’ but urm in that case you don’t
want to seem like you can’t work with each other’s well, so that aspect of it was kind of
forced, but with most lads it was fine.
Competition for power within the team initially, team members
refusing to surrender power in order for others to gain. Different
types of capital in possession (Bordieu, 1989).
Q39. Int: So how do you think it has progressed from that, are you still friends with the guys
you were at the start?
In order for a team to achieve they need to define their goals and
organise themselves in order to achieve them, and also they
need to perceive themselves as being part of the team and as
such by others. (Kerr & Tindale, 2004). A reduction of conflict
within the team. Relates to Interview 1 Q32,39.
Player: Ye I get on with everyone in the team now, there is not anybody I don’t get on with,
the lads I did have clashes with through training and games and contesting positions, even
now like going out on socials together playing together you get on really well because you
just get to know them. You get to know that there not arrogant, there not, that’s all over with
now like handing out your CV’s to compare yourself to everyone else, it’s more just working
together. Like we have been given a goal to finish top of all our leagues by the end of
Christmas so that is all we are focused on, we are just UWIC we are all in the same place
and the same quality.
Q40. Int: So would you say the reason why you are so close is because you are in that
same environment together and you are experiencing the same thing?
Player: Ye you find it in all teams that you play for, you do tend to bond quite quickly,
because at the end of the day you have to, you know you can’t be looking to your left and
right and not want to pass to that person, or you don’t get on with that person, you can’t
really have that in a team as you will not be successful . It was quite quick from the whole
comparing yourselves to each other..I think it was easier when the squad started to get
smaller and smaller, people were getting cut which definitely relieved a bit of tension, and
people were dropping out.
Actors within the same social space
under the same social conditions,
conflict is reduced as it is ineffective,
also as a result of reduction in numbers.
Relates to interview 1 Q39.
Q41. Int: Ok, um could you tell me about any players who sought of stood out in that training
environment, and how you think they did it?
Player: I think player wise the player I immediately realised was going to be a good player
was **, I never really get hit hard mostly because I choose good running lines, but I caught
the ball ran an angle in a he stuck his shoulder into me and it wasn’t a big hit but it made me
realise! It was me and him who put our names forward to carry the ball and take the lead
roles, so he came up again and again and he was the player who stuck in my head to stand
out.
Q42. Int: He sought of did it on the pitch, how did he react in the team talks?
Player: Socially I don’t really talk to him that much because he has gone up with the
second’s now.
Q43. Int: So there is not much interaction between teams would you say or?
Player: You do see a bit of a divide sometimes between some of the lads who have gone to
play for the 1’s and 2’s and the Fresher’s, and I don’t think there should be because they are
all fresher’s, I ‘l still talk to them and if there doing well then it’s not really their fault.
Q44. Int: Ye true, um so being a fresher and being new to rugby at ** have you noticed any
sub-groups forming within the team?
Player: Well we have the fresher rags and the fresher 2nd’s and you do see a bit of a divide
there when you see the lads playing constantly together here and constantly together there,
there is a little bit of tension between these two groups because the 2nd’s are trying to take
these lads positions, but when on a social it all goes away!
Q45. Int: But would you say that you are part of a sub-group?
Player: Well I have captained the 2nd’s quite a lot but I’ve also been playing under * for the
Fresher rags quite a lot, so I can swap back and forth between the two groups quite well, it’s
the same in my flat as well but I found that I can bounce from one to the other.
Q46. Int: That’s good, just looking now at team talks, when called in for a team talk in an
intense training session maybe leading up to a big match, some individuals may take a really
forward role and talk a lot more than others?
Player: There are lads that tend to have a lot to say..
Q47. Int: Why do you think they do?
Transformational leadership quality of
inspirational motivation shown by other
leaders within the team. Relates to
Interview 1, Q43 (Sivasubramaniam,
Murry, Jung, & Avolio, 2002).
Player: I think some of them, like * he sees it like his role to say something and get the lad’s
pumped up, but I think some of the other lads..I don’t know if they are doing it for the other
lad’s benefits or for their own.
Q48. Int: How do you mean ‘for their own?’
Player: When I did it, I played my first game for the 1st’s when I was in the team talk it all
went quiet for a minute so I just put myself forward to say something because I was so
nervous I just wanted to feel a part of the group, like to stand up and be counted, I didn’t
want to go out there and take any backseat at all so I felt a lot better confidence wise, I felt
like they knew I was there.
Q49. Int: Oh I see what you mean, that’s interesting..
Active involvement within the team can
be used to improve the social positioning
within the team. (Bordieu, 1989).
Player: I wasn’t so much saying, like going through the game plan talking a massive game,
they knew the plan better than I did I wasn’t telling the stuff they basically already knew but
In a way it’s kind of, ‘I’m here, I want to be counted’.
Q50. Int: Ye, ye alright, um so just looking within the team who would you sought of turn to,
and why?
Player: Um, me and * we get on really well, we are really good mates now so If I ever had a
problem I probably talk to him.
Q51. Int: Why would that be?
Player: Well we get on well on and off the pitch we tend to play really well together, and off
the pitch we get on really well in the socials and that.
Q52. Int: Would you ever approach maybe *?
Player: Uh, it depends on what the problem is, if it is a personal problem I wouldn’t really
tend to turn to anyone I would just phone home or something, but if it was anybody in the
team it would be someone I was good mates within the team like * or *. If it was anything
rugby wise if something was affecting my rugby then it probably would be *, but again it
depends on the situation.
Feels like he could approach **, reflects
transformational leadership qualities from
Josh, caring for the needs of his players.
(Kuhnert & Lewis, 1987).
Q53. Int: Ok, taking that situation in rugby, um maybe you had a problem with another
player....
Player: Ye, if I had any clashes with a player or especially one thing I did want to talk to
somebody about..well look I play for the 2’s a lot and I wanted to move into the Fresher rags
group so I talked to * about it but I also wanted to talk to * about it, I was going to but my
name popped up on the Fresher rags team sheet so I thought, ‘alright never mind’ sought of
thing, but I was actually thinking about going to talk to * to see what his opinion was on it.
Q54. Int: Why would you want to know his opinion?
Player: well I think he would be honest in that situation, umm honesty is like a big part of it,
like if I wasn’t doing something well and I wanted to improve on it I would want to be told I
don’t want people dancing round it, because at the end of the day if my lineout..say people
say you’re not very good at lineout jumping go sought that out then I then know what I need
to do, I think Josh would do the same and be honest and wouldn’t dance around the area.
Q55. Int: Ok so being straight down the line again like we mentioned earlier?
Q56. Int: Ok moving on, um you mentioned goals earlier, why do you think it is important for
everyone to be in agreement with these goals?
Player: I think you have to have it clear in your head about what you want to do, obviously
lads are going to have individual goals, like my individual goal was going from the 2nd’s into
the Fresher rags, but given like a goal like finishing the top of our league..
Q57. Int: Ye ok looking at that..
Player: Ye especially, that was quite a short term goal..until Christmas, so you could focus
on that whether you played for the 2’s or the Rags, like on Saturday it was just a win and I
don’t see anybody not being in agreement with that so everyone was working towards that
goal even if you were dropped back to the second’s the goal was still the same, it was to win
and end up at the top of the table which kept you going on that vibe and not concentrating
on being dropped.
With the application of goal setting the team were all focused
upon achieving this goal and therefore pulled together and
formed the same mindset of winning. Team leadership
approach. (Gupta, Huang & Niranjan 2010).
Q58. Int: Ye, what was the sought of impact on the team when given a goal?
Player: Well the goal to win was quite obvious anyway, but I think just being told by
Christmas we needed to be top of the league, I think it picked up the intensity quite a bit, um
quite a few lads stopped the whole drinking thing, because we wanted to be fit, especially
before the cup game against Glamorgan, we said ‘we want to win this game’ so everyone
with that goal in mind pulled in the reins, stopped drinking and got on the fitness, everyone
had the same mindset so I think in that respect it made it a lot easier to come together as a
team whichever team that was, even if it was a different group of player’s that week
everyone knew that was the mindset and took it equally seriously, and trusted each other
and that.
Q59. Int: Oh perfect, ye um, so say there may be like a bit of conflict within the team, how
would you say ** would deal with that being captain, maybe like during a training session or
something?
Player: Umm, we did have a bit of conflict on a couple of occasions when we would go into
any contact session there always seems to be..
Q60. Int: A bit feisty?
Relates to a transactional leadership approach,
in the feedback process discipline is used to get
players back on track. (Bass, 1989).
Player: It is going to happen, it is a physical game at the end of the day and as long as it’s
not a big problem, a bit of ‘fisty cuff’s’ and then it’s over, say if it was a really big problem *
would just tell them to ‘group up and get on with it, it’s rugby don’t take it personally if
someone hits you and you don’t like it then you’re in the wrong sport’ kind of thing you know.
Q61. Int: Again being very honest about it.
Q62. Int: Um, right ok, in a team everybody sought of brings a different element to the team
dynamic, what would you say your responsibility or role within the team would be?
Player: Um, the role I have always took in general with most of the teams I’ve played in is
trying to being on the front of everything, trying to get involved with everything possible and
get stuck in a lot, I’m not like the glory, I never get the glory I have scored more tries here at
UWIC before Christmas than I have for any other team all together, so I tend to be like..
Q63. Int: So why do you think that is?
Active involvement within the team can
be used to improve the social
positioning within the team. (Bordieu,
1989).
Relates
to Q48,49.
the
other
lads jobs
for
Player: I think that in other teams I felt because I had to do some of
them like hitting every ruck, but you quickly realise here that the lads are all of a good
standard and they can look after themselves so I can stand out in the pod, I think I have
developed a lot more here, in the few months that I have been here than I have in my other
four years of rugby because I have been able to develop different aspects of my game,
before here I never had the ball and had like 2 carries a game because someone had
dropped it backwards.
Q64. Int: More of a front foot role here?
Player: Ye.
Q65. Int: Um, looking at **, how does he manage the team, for example does he like to take
control on the pitch, in a game situation now, how does he manage you?
Player: In breaks in the game I think is where he becomes most vocal that’s one thing I
noticed, In breaks he will tell you what he wants from you and what he wants you to do,
while the game goes on he will just expect you to do it, he’s told you what he wants from you
‘just get on and do it’.
More of a transactional approach, doing
what the leader wants is in the best
interest for the followers, involves an
exchange process (Kuhnert & Lewis,
1987).
Q66. Int: So what would you say would happen if you weren’t doing that role?
Player: I think the next break he would probably let you know, he would tell you..
Q67. Int: Again being very honest?
Player: Uh, again trying to be as positive as he can with it, he won’t say ‘you’re not doing
this, and you’re rubbish at this’ he will just say ‘make sure you do this’ and ‘I want you to do
this’ he will remind you.
Q68. Int: And how would you say you’d react to some of that, If he had to come up to you
and say ‘I want you doing this I want you doing that’?
Player: As long as he wasn’t being snappy with me or anything like that I would be fine with
it, maybe if he snapped at me a little bit then you kind of feel ‘arrgh I’m obviously not playing
well’ kind of thing, but he doesn’t tend to do that, I have never seen him snap at anyone.
Q69. Int: Ok, that’s always a good trait to have, um as he ever sought of approached you
during a game and you know, when making a decision has he ever asked for your opinion?
Player: Um, well I’ve come into that group a bit later than most of the other lads, so not sure
how much he trusts my decision making as of yet because I don’t think he has seen me in
that position of decision making, I think maybe if he had played with me in the 2’s he would
have seen me in a captain like role, and having seen me make decisions then say ‘oh well
ye he can make a decision and he knows what he’s doing’. Maybe coming up he probably
trusts the opinion of other lads more.
Q70. Int: So why do you think that is, because they have been together longer?
Player: Ye, I think the trust is a bit more there, I think ye especially..I wouldn’t want to upset
the captain, if he was doing something wrong I wouldn’t say ‘you’re making the wrong
decision constantly what the hell are you doing?’
Q71. Int: Why wouldn’t you want to upset him then?
Due to being new to the team he perceives the
captain to have little trust in him. Seemed to be
quite weary of the captain, this implies that the
power has been surrendered by Gruff and the
captain is in control.
Player: Um, I’m just coming into that group, last thing I want to do is cause any discomfort
especially between me and the captain, not that I am dishonest or anything but I think I
would put it in a nicer way than..
Q72. Int: ok, but maybe you would talk to another player?
Player: If I was vice captain or captain of the 2’s and someone came to me and said, ‘what
do you think of this?’ and I thought it was rubbish, I wouldn’t sought of put it as ‘rubbish’, I
would still say ‘but you’re not doing this, you need to sought that out’.
Q73. Int: So why do you think you would have that confidence?
Player: I think it’s because they asked me, you know it’s my role to do that, but in the ** it’s
not my role to do that, you know I’m not captain I’m not vice captain.
Q74. Int: You are just trying to adjust..
Relates to Loughead’s, et al,. (2006) findings, not
everyone one has a leadership role within the team.
He perceives trust to relate directly to performance,
Shen & Chen (2007) results reinforce this perception.
Player: Ye I’m just trying to get into it and gain the trust by performing well.
Q75. Int: So then based on your performance would you say it’s down to them to decide?
Player: Ye well I think as soon as, ye well after the first couple of games I played for them
they started realising that they can trust me, and I can do my role and I will play my role as
well as I can.
Q76. Int: So how do you think that has an impact on your relationship with the rest of the
team?
Player: It definitely get’s a lot better, socially it gets a lot better because If you’ve had a good
performance your confidence..you saw In the ** game one lad was on the bench and he
didn’t get on, and you could see it in the social after that he was kind of on the outline and
the outskirts of that group, and he almost didn’t really want to try and get involved as he
thought, ‘well I haven’t really played’ and it was the same with one of the games that I didn’t
play I wasn’t excepted and that social I didn’t go out.
Q77. Int: Why was that?
Player: Well I went to the SU and it was all, ‘ow ye that tackle you made’ and ‘the ref was
this’ and I was like..I wasn’t even playing!
Q78. Int: So you would say that a lot of what goes on in the social environment after comes
from the day’s game?
Player: I think there is a big relationship between a player’s skill level and how well they do
socially as well to be honest with you, ye especially, you see it in the SU a lot like the man of
the match is there getting the drinks down him and the rest of the night he will be up there
and it will be about him, even the ‘idiot of the match’ will be up there or centre of attention, so
in that respect how we do on the pitch definitely does effect socially. If you’re not getting
picked then the lads will be like, ‘well he’s not really a member of our group’ I think, I would
definitely, you know if I was playing in the back row I would definitely get to trust them and
go out with them a bit more.After a good game the individual social capital increased giving him a more
Q79. Int: Why is that?
respected position within the group and the social environment outside of playing.
(Bordieu, 1989). The trust in the player also increased as a result of performing well.
Trust is built between captain and player after playing together especially if the
player performs well.
Player: I think it is just because coming off the pitch having played well as a back row
together, there is an aspect of trust there you know, you’ve been playing together for 80
minutes you know what their skill sets are and there is kind of a bond their you know, and off
the pitch you can just keep it, you are kind of happy with each other now that you have
played, so it’s a lot easier to talk off the pitch. If you have played poorly, I don’t know if they
are sought of annoyed with you, but it seems that way sometimes.
Q80. Int: Do you think that could just be your perception in your head?
Player: I have no idea to be honest, if I have played poorly I tend not to go out as I don’t feel
part of it.
Q81.Int: You almost feel guilty for not putting a decent performance in?
Player: Ye especially if they have as well, If it is an all round poor performance then you can
all talk about how rubbish you all played, but if they are all buzzing, especially with the
ratings, like ‘arrh I got a 9/10’ and you’re sat there with a 6 then you tend to be there with all
the 6’s.
Int: Haha, ye I see what you mean.
Int: Ok, well thank you ** for your time.
Player: Not a problem.
APPENDIX H.
Appendix H.
Interview 3, The Captain.
Open Coding.
Int: Ok just to start, could you just please give your name and your position in the **
Fresher’s side.
Player: Um, * Captain of the * team.
Int: Um, so how long have you played rugby for?
Player: Um, since I was seven..at least.
Int: So a long time.
Int: So what would you consider the highest level you’ve played at to be?
Player: Um, probably divisional standard so London division, so ye.
Int: Ok so a good standard.
Int: So have you ever previously captained a team before **?
Player: Uh ye.
Int: What was that senior school?
Player: Well mainly at club, as well as um, my school team as well that wasn’t that great of a
rugby team, and also for my county sides as well.
Int: So a lot of experience as captain?
Player: Ye, ye.
Int: So how would you compare your experience there to **?
Player: To **, um obviously different boys obviously, bit older you know, so I feel myself to
be a bit of an older head compared to the others, because of the age gap.
Int: Ok, what’s the age gap?
Player: Well I’m ** now, so what the rest of them are around 18/19yrs.
Int: Gives you a bit of an advantage do you think?
Player: Yes I think so.
Int: Obviously being captain as it stands what would you describe to be your ideal captain?
Player: One that you will follow no matter what, umm, he has got to lead from the front he’s
got to be inspirational you know, whatever he does you want to be in his team, you want to
be like him, you want to follow him.
Described a leader with a
transformational approach to leadership,
inspirational, to lead by example.
(Zacharatos, Balling & Kelloway, 2000).
Int: Ok, so from that how would you describe your own style of captaincy?
Player: Umm, probably I can lead up from the front but sometimes I like to sit back and
watch.
Int: Why is it that you like to sit back?
Player: Just to see umm, how everyone is acting within the team in their jobs and their roles,
making sure everyone is doing their jobs and roles. Because If I just did my game and left it
there, then the others would do the same..
Actually saw himself as more of a
Int: So sought of to help out with the team by observing them..and..
transactional type of leader, who
organised and monitored his team
making sure they got things right, an
active leader in this sense. (Bass, 1985).
Player: And a little bit of an organisational role as well..ye.
Int: Ok, just moving on umm, what do you think is the most important role in relation to the
rest of your players that you have as captain in the team?
Player: umm, I would want to say getting the boys ready for a game..
Int: So like a motivational role..?
Player: But I can’t see that as ‘that’s your personal job’ kind of thing, I see more of my role to
make sure that the structures are right and that everyone knows the calls umm, everyone
knows there jobs and everyone is working as a team, rather than just walking off separate
from the group.
Int: So again more of an organisational role?
Player: Yeh..yeh.
Int: Ok, umm so that’s what you’d describe as your best quality as captain?
Player: Possibly, yeh I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing?!
Int: No, no it’s obviously a good quality to have.
Again showing transactional leadership
qualities in the training environment
provides a ‘checklist’ for the team to follow.
Relates to interview 2 Q59,60.
Int: So why do you think you have taken that sought of stance with captaincy, organisation?
Player: Um probably because I feel that, especially younger players can get distracted quite
easily especially in training, I mean you’ve been to training, and it’s been quite blasé we’ve
done a few muck around sessions kind of thing, which is all good and well but then again
you do need to time just to organise it, some person to say ‘right we are doing this, and then
we are doing that’ so it’s like a checklist and they just follow it.
Int: Do you think you have to discipline the player’s?
Player: To a degree, but then I think it should just be your own personal discipline, umm, but
some players would lack being wise to discipline acts like that.
Int: Would you say that you are sought of the only leader within the team?
Player: um no, no I wouldn’t, I’d say there’s spiritual leaders obviously umm, everyone has
got their friendship groups within the team and I think that everyone has got a leader within
those friendship groups so they look towards them for reassurance and to count on them
kind of thing.
Int: So there are a number of leaders beside you?
An example of team leadership here,
the captain may consider other
leaders from within the team before
making a decision; however it is his
decision after all.
Player: Ye I would say so.
Int: So looking at those leaders, when making sought of an important decision on the field
would you ever turn to them?
Player: I would umm, being going over the decision in my head first and then those players
would generally step up themselves and say look we should be doing this and then maybe
take their advice and maybe not.
Int: Based on what, if in your opinion their advice was wrong would you just totally dismiss it?
Player: Ye I would, ye probably.
Int: Ok, now just looking back to the first sought of session when you came to **, what did
you notice about how people acted and came together?
Player: Umm, well there was a lot of people haha, hard to sought of sought it out, basically a
group of lads a group of boys who were looking for a bit of fun first off, umm but then again
you did start to see just a few people taking it really seriously, umm.
Int: What was your attitude when you first went in?
Surrendered his power so that others
could gain a position within the team.
(Morgan & Smircich, 1982). Relates to
interview 1, Q 36.
Player: I just stood right back, I stood right back umm, I just wanted to see what people were
doing the walking and what people were talking the talk, so..
Int: Did you notice anyone trying to stand out and being prominent in the group?
Player: Well there were a few boys just talking the talk really and they kind of just drifted off a
little bit.
A reduction in social capital after not being able to back up what
Int: Why was it that they did this do you think? they said they were capable of. Also a competition for power
and leadership to improve positioning within the team.
(Bordieu, 1989).
Player: Um maybe intimidation or maybe they were nervous, and maybe they dropped off
because they couldn’t live with the bigger boys, um but then there were a few people who
were being themselves the whole time and they are the ones who are still here kind of thing.
Int: So you took the sought of backseat role, what was the main sought of reason for that?
Player: Just because I didn’t know anyone and I didn’t want to walk in and say ‘look boys this
is that’ and they would be like ‘well who the hell is that?’ I didn’t want to be that kind of guy,
so I worked people out and then just..
Int: So would you say that you have progressed during the season to being a bit more
prominent in the sessions would you say?
His interaction within the group will
have improved his positioning, and
then he occupied the captain habitus
as a result of this patience and
interaction. (Bordieu, 1989).
Player: Ye I would say so, ye.
Int: Right, so were you confident that you would fit in straight away, so who did you notice
you got on with?
Player: Well mainly people who were like living close to me, um first off, obviously my
housemates’, but there was only one other who was living with me who was playing rugby,
so obviously I would stop by him and get together sought of thing. But then as it went on
people started to realise you know ‘I’ve started to play with him a few times’ and it’s sought
of natural rugby really you become social with people and good mates with them, so it has
kind of progressed like that.
Int: Ok, and it’s going well?
Player: yeh yeh it is.
Int: Right in relation to the players and the social side of the team, how would you describe
the relationship between the team members?
Player: Socially?
Int: Yeh obviously we’ve got the playing situation on the pitch, maybe afterwards when
people are starting to wind down and the social situation afterwards, how do the team
members get on?
An example of where maybe team leadership has had a
Player: I think we could get on a lot better!
Int: Really? Why is that?
negative effect upon team cohesion. A conflicting opinion
to interviewee 2 who said the same attitude was
maintained by everyone in the squad.
Int: I think because there is like a split in the group kind of thing, well you have got players
who take it really really seriously, people who really want to push on who want to be like for
example first team players and professional players. Whereas there are the other players
who just want to be in the team and getting the players together. I think socially we could be
a lot closer if we did the socials together but like all had the same attitude towards socials if
you know what I mean.
Int: So what is some people’s attitude towards a social?
Player: Well it’s like when they go towards a social they will meet up and then they will go,
and drift off. You see I see the social as being the a social for the whole night, and then in
training you talk about it you laugh about it who did what in the night kind of thing you know?
Int: Ye, ye.
Player: So I think there is a difference in attitudes there and thoughts, but it does come
together when everyone is just training and the teams there.
The captain saw it as important to socialise outside of
Int: Where would you put yourself in those two groups? the training environment, leaders from within influenced
the split in groups in the social environment, relates to
interview 1 and the social leaders.
Player: Well probably the more social side with all the boys for the whole night kind of thing.
Int: So you’d say your relationship is slightly better with the lads on the social side, describe
sought of your relationship with each group.
Player: Uhh, I believe so with all like the social boys, ye, as well as the other boys who don’t
socialise as much umm, I think I still get on with them quite well, because I have had just a
few games with the 1st’s so the kind of come and approach me about that and ask me about
it and they want to know the in’s and out’s of it and what is going on.
Int: So that is more on the performance side of
Player: Ye.
Put himself into the social group, perceives himself to
have a good relationship with everyone,
things.
transformational leadership qualities shown here,
individualised consideration and intellectual stimulation
with information on the 1st’s (Zacharatos et al,.2000).
Int: So you’ve got that dynamic of having the social group, who you get on better with would
you say?
Player: Well it’s about the same I think.
Int: But then you’ve got that different element of if you want to take it seriously you’ve got
that other group you can socialise with.
Player: Ye ye that’s it.
Int: So how would you say your player’s perceive you as captain?
Player: Uhh, I don’t know.
Int: How would you like them to see you?
Shows transformational leadership qualities
when referring to game situation. More of a
personal approach use of the word ‘family’
suggests they are close.
Player: Just as a leader as in leading from the front, and that we are family and we are safe
and tight kind of thing, rather than it’s a team we have got to perform, u know what I mean?
Int: Yeh
Player: So rather we stick together, rather than like ‘boys this is not good enough we need to
sought this out we should do this instead’ I’d rather keep the team together.
Int: So putting it into a playing situation, if one of your player’s was having an off day and you
could see it on the pitch that he was making mistakes, how would you sought of approach
him?
Player: Um I wouldn’t really talk to him apart from like, ‘come on mate, let’s step it up, step it
up’.
Int: So indirectly?
Player: Kind of indirectly, just on his shoulder kind of thing and just behind a little bit, just to
say ‘I’ve got your back’ kind of thing, um as well as if he then did something well I would be
right up saying ‘awesome work, awesome work, keep it up’ I would also be keeping the boys
together you know, ‘stick together, stick together’ and then if he is having an off day maybe
we would separate from the group and maybe if he is in that frame of mind still he could try
and change his game around.
In reference to helping an individual on the pitch
the captain shows a caring approach,
individualised consideration and looking out for
the needs of the player (Kuhnert & Lewis (1987).
Int: Ok, um looking at the opposite to that, when you are on the field say a player sees it to
be his duty to take it on himself and disobey the way that the team are going and the way
you as the captain want it, maybe in decision making as well, how would address that
problem?
Player: Well first off I think that the team would actually shout at him first before I would, then
once he has realised that he has made a few wrong decisions then I will be saying ‘look
come on let’s calm it down’ and say ‘we could do this’ and be a bit wiser, and make him buy
into the idea himself, rather than, ‘that’s totally wrong, that’s poor’.
Sensitive to the characteristic variance
of followers as it can effect leadership
(Ntoumanis, N. 2011).
Use of a democratic approach, sensitive to the player’s feelings,
a transformational style. Team leadership also comes in when
he mentioned about other team mates would ‘shout at him first’,
suggests that he doesn’t take an active part in discipline.
Int: Ok so if you took that approach how do you think he would react?
Player: Well he would say, ‘who the hell are you, get off’ and would probably want the ball
more and probably do more things wrong compared to what the team wants to achieve, or
he will just step right back and not even do his job kind of thing.
Int: So there is like a trust issue there with like your players, um obviously when making a
decision that trust is very important, without that trust from your players what do you think
that impact would be?
Player: Well then I wouldn’t want to be their captain really, a coach will elect a captain etc,
leaders, because he has his trust in him I think that then passes onto the players and that
should be the mixture of trust within the team, if he is leader then respect it, trust him to
make the right decision he has shown qualities so that he can do the job for you guys in
certain situations.
Team trust is vital for the team to perform well, and trust for its leader is vital for
leadership to be effective (Shen & Chen, 2007). Trust is gained here by
performing well on the pitch and leading by example, transformational leadership,
relates to interview 2, Q73,74.
Int: So how would you develop that trust, obviously being new as a captain with new
player’s, to start with they maybe like ‘well we will see how he is’?
Player: I think you have got to perform from the off, and then let them see what you are
about let them see what you can do, let them see umm, hopefully then they will follow you
and they will trust you and be like ‘ok he has got a bit of skill, and has something about him’.
So performing from the off for them to see and then they will start to follow kind of thing. It’s
kind of like breaking the wall, like when you first meet someone it’s like a friendly hand
shake.
Int: Ok and then take it further.
Player: Yeh
Int: Right ok, just looking again at the social context outside of playing, how important do you
think that is to bond outside to relate back to your playing.
Player: I think it is one of the most important things to do, because I was in a team last year
my club side, I wasn’t captain but I was part of the team and there would be about four
people after the game who would want to socialise and all the others would go home
because they lived slightly further away or there was a group of boys who didn’t really want
to get on it. And the results showed it to be honest.
Int: What did you notice?
Player: The team wasn’t working, we were playing a couple of phases and it would break
down, people were just firing everywhere, stuff wasn’t getting finished off, so I think it
showed. And then we had just one big social and it just switched just like that, it was just
after Christmas time and it switched and we started getting the results in and finished top of
the league, so I believe that just from that it is important to have a good social, get the whole
group tight and everything starts to build from that.
Int: So why do you think it happens in that social environment, why does it have an impact, is
it again down to trust?
Active involvement within the team can be used to
improve the social positioning within the team.
(Bordieu, 1989). Relates interview 2, Q48,49,62.
Player: Yeh I think trust is the main one, just that familiarity with the boys as well as
enjoyment because I would never want to play with someone that I have never known
before, as I wouldn’t know what he is going to do I don’t know what he wants to do kind of
thing, then you start enjoying it and after the game you start talking about it, ‘arrh ye,ye that
was sick when you did that’ kind of thing, that kind of talk brings it back up..
Int: Sought of common interests kind of..
Player: Yeh exactly exactly.
Again trust is related to performance,
however it also relates to the social
positions within the group, and how long
the individual has been perceived as part
of the team.
Int: Ok, so when it comes to leading the team on the pitch, what’s your opinion on delegating
that leadership to other player’s?
Player: Um ye I totally agree, especially being a lock or second row I put a lot of emphasis
on the props the tight head prop mostly and also the hooker to sought of lead the
scrumaging, whereas lineouts maybe it is a bit different, it’s more on me to make the call.
Int: Why do you think that is?
Player: Just because um we are on different areas on the pitch and time is running low,
maybe the score is a bit..we are say 4 points behind or maybe 20 points behind, maybe we
have been losing all the lineouts say, so going back to previous experience I could maybe
say ‘right let’s do this call’ but then again if I put all the responsibility onto the hooker then the
throw may be off due to this pressure which is the key part of it, because you know we want
the ball, so ideally to spread all the roles is what you want to do, but then again I think
everyone would be thinking totally different on what the common goal is to be honest.
The use of team leadership and the
delegation of different roles within the team,
considered that too much pressure could
cause failure, use of individualised
consideration (Zacharatos et al,. 2000).
Int: Ok so as captain you like to spread the leadership but ultimately what do you think it
comes down to?
Player: Ultimately it comes down to your decision at the end of the day.
Int: Ok I think that is all I need from you, thanks a lot *.
Player: Ok no worries.
APPENDIX I.
APPENDIX I.
TABLE 1.
THEME
The Data Analysis and Tabulation of Interview One (Player 1).
LEADERSHIP APPROACH AND CAPTAIN/PLAYER POWER
RELATIONSHIP.
CATEGO
RY
TRANSFORMATIONAL/TRANSA
CTIONAL LEADERSHIP.
SubCategory
Transformational
Transactional
Conflict
Use of
Competition
Power/
Habitus
Codes
‘someone who can
lead on the field, and
who knows what’s
going on. Umm, like
not afraid to be out
there, talks to the ref,
talks to his players so
everyone knows what
they’re doing’.
‘been vocal, they have
sought of lead from the
front, always being like
the first person to put a
big hit in, and been
motivating to everyone
else’.
‘then he’d put his
discipline in and set
the structures and
that’
‘he would
take it on
board, use it
for the next
decision,
then he
might just
think about
it’.
‘When he is
faced with a
difficult
decision
what does
he do?
Mostly
looks to his
fly half,
because
they like
run the
game’.
‘possibly
again talk
to his fly
half, see
what they
think and
then
collectively
come to a
decision’.
‘so id
question
him and
might give
him ideas,
or he might
think ‘ok I’ll
listen to
that’
‘you have
always got
a vice
captain on
the field, so
if you’re not
getting on
with the
captain you
can speak
to the vice
captain’
‘it’s sought
of harder for
me not to
talk to the
captain, as I
have been
in that
position
myself’.
‘can be
quite
defensive,
because we
have
questioned
his
decision’.
‘and his
behaviour
may
change like
towards
you during
the game,
but mostly it
is
meaningles
s, and what
goes on the
field more
or less
stays on
there, so
when you
get off the
field you go
back to
being best
mates’.
‘he just tends to just
like take a step back
and see what the boys
do first and then talk to
them afterwards,
instead of just talking
all the time, because
sometimes if that
happens the boys will
be like, ‘oooh he’s on
there again talking’,
‘he is confident in that
position, even if he is
not calling the right
decisions, if he is
confident and
everyone else seems
to be listening to him
we will obey him’
‘they can just like
express their feelings,
and then everyone
else either thinks, ‘ok
we can change that
TEAM
LEADERSHIP
‘can be quite
defensive,
because we
have
questioned
his decision,
but also he
does take it
on board’
‘Purely
location,
sometimes
you can feel
a bit out of
place’.
LEADERSHIP AND
THE
POWER
RELATIONSHIP
‘I think
everyone
has got the
right to say
what they
think, so if
you have
got
something
to say to the
captain why
not say it?’
‘like ‘I
should be
better than
you
because I
have played
this
standard’
‘that like get
some of the
boys on
their side to
elect them
‘I was just
quiet to
start with, I
would let
them have
their say
first, and
then I
would say
stuff’.
‘as just
fresher’s
we were all
in the same
situation’.
‘in a tense
situation he
stays
goal slightly’ or they
should have to live
with the goal, and you
have to try and
motivate them to try
and succeed it’.
‘and the captain will be
like ‘ok boys watch out
on this, or do this a bit
better’ and sought of
just motivate the boys
on the field as well’.
‘would say I would
approach him myself
rather than him come
to me’.
‘captain would take
note and would say
‘sorry that was my
fault, probably should
have come to speak to
you boys first’.
‘we just
stayed as
fresher’s,
and we all
got a good
bond
straight
from there’.
‘and he will
be like ‘ok if
you think
you can do
it then go
for it’.
to be
captain,
although
they are just
social guys’.
relaxed, like
if he started
showing
worry then
all of the
other
players will
be worried’.
‘the same
thought
patterns
and have
the same
ideas of
things to
do’.
TABLE 2.
THEME
CATEGORY
The Data Analysis and Tabulation of Interview Two (Player 2).
LEADERSHIP APPROACH AND CAPTAIN/PLAYER POWER RELATIONSHIP.
TRANSFORMATIONAL/
TRANSACTIONAL
LEADERSHIP.
TEAM
LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP AND THE
POWER RELATIONSHIP
SubCategory
Transformational
Transactional
Conflict
Use of
Competition
Power/
Habitus
Codes
‘he still gets on
with the lads
really well and I
think the lads
really respect
him when he is
talking you
listen’.
‘if there is a
decision to
be made
then he will
just make it
and get on
with it and he
will expect
everybody
else to get on
with it’.
‘but in
the
Rag’s
it’s not
my role
to do
that, you
know
I’m not
captain
I’m not
vice
captain’.
‘break in
the game
or half time
then he will
take on
board any
suggestion
s or
anything
else but in
the game
that is it,
he’s taken
on board
any
suggestion
s you’ve
had so he’s
going to
make his
decision
based on
that’.
‘and it would
be like a
really tense
sought of
awkward
moment, and
if they are
like ‘oh I play
back row’
then it will
almost be
like sizing
each other
up’.
‘but uh as the session
went on I thought
‘Just go for it’ as I had
nothing to lose, as I
have to try and make
an impact here’.
‘he will take
on board
what the
Hooker
says. If the
Hooker
says
‘oh there is
too much
wind’ then
he will
listen to
him. That’s
the only
person he
will listen
to’.
‘it was easier
when the
squad
started to get
smaller and
smaller,
people were
getting cut
which
definitely
relieved a bit
of tension’.
‘respectable,
honest,
hardworking, his
work rate on the
field is
unbelievable
you know, going
back to leading
by example you
do notice this’.
‘first thing he
said to me was
‘keep you head
and calm down’
he said ‘just get
round the next
ruck’ and that
was what I
needed’.
‘ always really
positive he
doesn’t criticize
at all..’
‘I kind of felt like
he trusted me in
that role, to
defend that part
of the pitch and
then I felt a bit
more confident
in doing it’.
‘we did have
a bit of
conflict on a
couple of
occasions’
‘Josh would
just tell them
to ‘group up
and get on
with it’.
‘he will tell
you what he
wants from
you and what
he wants you
to do, while
the game
goes on he
will just
expect you to
do it, he’s
told you what
he wants
from you
‘just get on
and do it’.
‘make sure
you do this’
and ‘I want
‘we have
been given
‘ye fair
enough you
play for
these, but
you don’t
have to
constantly go
on about it!’
‘he sees it
like his role
to say
something
and get the
lad’s pumped
up, but I think
‘tried to be vocal’.
‘it was because we
were all in the same
boat kind of thing’.
‘no matter how you fit
into that team you are
going to have to work
with these people’.
‘I’m here, I want to be
counted’.
‘I felt like they knew I
was there’.
‘Role I’ve always took
is to being on the
front of everything,
trying to get involved
with everything
possible and get
stuck in’.
‘last thing I want to do
is cause any
discomfort especially
between me and the
captain’.
‘you know what their
skill sets are and
there is kind of a
bond their you know,
and off the pitch you
can just keep it, you
‘he sees it like
his role to say
something and
get the lad’s
pumped up, but
I think some of
the other lads..I
don’t know if
they are doing it
for the other
lad’s benefits or
for their own’.
‘If it was
anything rugby
wise if
something was
affecting my
rugby then it
probably would
be Josh’.
you to do
this’ he will
remind you’.
a goal to
finish top of
all our
leagues by
the end of
Christmas
so that is all
we are
focused on,
we are just
UWIC we
are all in
the same
place and
the same
quality’.
‘was just a
win and I
don’t see
anybody
not being in
agreement
with that so
everyone
was
working
towards
that goal
even if you
were
dropped
back to the
second’s
the goal
was still the
same’.
some of the
other lads..I
don’t know if
they are
doing it for
the other
lad’s benefits
or for their
own’.
‘If you have
played
poorly, I don’t
know if they
are sought of
annoyed with
you, but it
seems that
way’.
Sometimes’.
are kind of happy with
each other now that
you have played, so
it’s a lot easier to talk
off the pitch.
TABLE 3.
THEME
CATEG
ORY
The Data Analysis and Tabulation of Interview Three (Captain).
LEADERSHIP APPROACH AND CAPTAIN/PLAYER POWER RELATIONSHIP.
TRANSFORMATIONAL/
TRANSACTIONAL
LEADERSHIP.
TEAM LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP AND THE
POWER RELATIONSHIP
SubCategory
Transformational
Transactional
Conflict
Use of
Competition
Power/
Habitus
Codes
‘he has got to
lead from the
front he’s got to
be inspirational
you know,
whatever he
does you want
to be in his
team, you want
to be like him,
you want to
follow him’.
‘making sure
everyone is
doing their
jobs and
roles.
Because If I
just did my
game and
left it there,
then the
others would
do the same’.
‘so I feel myself to
be a bit of an older
head compared to
the others,
because of the
age gap’.
‘I see more
of my role to
make sure
that the
structures
are right and
that
everyone
knows the
calls’.
‘kind of come
and approach
me about that
and ask me
about it and they
want to know
the in’s and
out’s of it and
what is going
on’.
‘everyone
knows there
jobs and
everyone is
working as a
team, rather
than just
walking off
separate
from the
group’.
‘I’d say
there’s
spiritual
leaders
obviously
everyone
has got
their
friendship
groups
within the
team and I
think that
everyone
has got a
leader
within those
friendship
groups so
they look
towards
them for
reassuranc
e and to
count on
them kind
of thing’.
‘Well
there
were a
few boys
just
talking the
talk really
and they
kind of
just
drifted off
a little bit’.
‘You see I see
the social as
being a social
for the whole
night, and then
in training you
talk about it you
laugh about it
who did what in
the night’.
‘because there
is like a split in
the group kind
of thing, well
you have got
players who
take it really
really
seriously,
people who
really want to
push on who
want to be like
for example
first team
players and
professional
players.
Whereas there
are the other
players who
just want to be
in the team
and getting the
players
together’.
‘as a leader as
in leading from
the front, and
that we are
family and we
are safe and
tight’.
‘come on mate,
let’s step it up,
step it up’.
‘then again
you do need
to time just to
organise it,
some person
to say ‘right
we are doing
this, and then
we are doing
that’ so it’s
‘socially we
could be a lot
closer if we did
the socials
together but
like all had the
same attitude
towards
socials’.
‘So I think
there is a
difference in
attitudes there
and thoughts,
but it does
come together
when
everyone is
‘being
going over
the
decision in
my head
first and
then those
players
would
generally
step up
themselves
and say
look we
should be
doing this
and then
maybe take
‘maybe
intimidatio
n or
maybe
they were
nervous,
and
maybe
they
dropped
off
because
they
couldn’t
live with
the bigger
boys’.
‘they go
towards a
social
they will
meet up
and then
they will
go, and
drift off’.
‘because I feel
that, especially
younger players
can get distracted
quite easily
especially in
training’
‘I just stood right
back, I just
wanted to see
what people were
doing the walking
and what people
were talking the
talk’.
‘then there were a
few people who
were being
themselves the
whole time and
they are the ones
who are still here’.
‘so I worked
people out’.
‘progressed during
the season to
being a bit more
prominent in the
sessions would
you say?’ ‘Ye I
would say so, ye’.
‘people started to
realise you know
‘I’ve started to play
‘Kind of
indirectly, just
on his shoulder
kind of thing and
just behind a
little bit, just to
say ‘I’ve got
your back’.
‘he has made a
few wrong
decisions then I
will be saying
‘look come on
let’s calm it
down’ and say
‘we could do
this’ and be a bit
wiser, and make
him buy into the
idea himself,
rather than,
‘that’s totally
wrong, that’s
poor’.
like a
checklist and
they just
follow it’.
just training
and the teams
there’.
‘so ideally to
spread all the
roles is what
you want to
do, but then
again I think
everyone
would be
thinking totally
different on
what the
common goal
is to be
honest’.
‘Ultimately it
comes down
to your
decision at the
end of the
day’.
their advice
and maybe
not’.
with him a few
times’ and it’s
sought of natural
rugby really you
become social
with people and
good mates with
them, so it has
kind of progressed
like that’.
‘let them see what
you are about let
them see what
you can do’.
‘hopefully then
they will follow you
and they will trust
you and be like ‘ok
he has got a bit of
skill, and has
something about
him’.
‘just that familiarity
with the boys as
well as enjoyment
because I would
never want to play
with someone that
I have never
known before’.