FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

Future Sport: The Tech Breaktrhoughs Changing the World of Rugby

The increased use of technology is making rugby an easier sport to officiate. But, as recent examples show, there is still room for improvement.

Photo by PA Images

VICE Sports has teamed up with Beats by Dr. Dre to bring you a unique perspective on this year's Rugby World Cup. From unlikely heroes to the lowdown on cutting-edge equipment and technology, we're delving into the stories behind the stats at the pinnacle of global rugby.

#TheGameStartsHere in partnership with Beats by Dr. Dre

If you didn't know about the Television Match Official at the Rugby World Cup before, the dying stages of Scotland against Australia should have more than helped to fill in the blanks. With the Scots two points ahead in dramatic style and the clock ticking towards less than a minute of regular time remaining, the referee awarded Australia a get-out-of-jail-free, winner-takes-all penalty kick. Bernard Foley coolly converted to send the Wallabies into the last four.

Advertisement

Losing out on a semi-final berth in the dying moments was a kick in the teeth for the spirited Scottish side. But sadness gave way to anger not long after the final whistle, as it suddenly became apparent that the winning penalty may have been given in error.

READ MORE: The Essential Songs of the Rugby World Cup

This, say the Scots, is where the Television Match Official should have come in. Far from a new idea in World Rugby, the video referee is a prominent figure in both codes of the sport. They leave the on-field official free to refer any contentious decisions to his colleague, who has the advantage of real-time access to action replays at various angles, slo-motion footage and a zoom facility. It's all designed to ensure that the majority of decisions made by the team of officials are as correct as possible, no matter how long it takes to come up with the answer.

The referee on the night, Craig Joubert, failed to utilise his man upstairs for the biggest call of the test, which would have removed all doubt from the minds of the players and fans alike. Instead, what should have been a celebration for Australia was overshadowed by a technology-tinged debate sparked by the winning penalty, which could have quite easily been avoided.

Bernard Foley prepares to kick what would prove to be the winning penalty | PA Images

Far from a man rewinding a video tape of the footage and using a magnifying glass and freeze-frames to determine the correct decision, the TMO has access to some of the most high-tech equipment possible, with Hawk-Eye brought on board by World Rugby to provide the most comprehensive video coverage.

Advertisement

Perhaps most familiar to fans of cricket and tennis, Hawk-Eye specialise in sporting technology, both for officials and broadcasters alike. Able to turn their unique and extensive network of high definition cameras into various form factors after the fact, the technology allows umpires to track the path of a ball and more closely deliberate over contentious wickets in cricket. Tennis players are able to refer line calls to Hawk-Eye throughout a match should they have any disagreement with the decisions made in real time.

READ MORE: Talking Rugby and the Haka with a Maori Cultural Expert

The oft repeated, world famous footage of John McEnroe at Wimbledon in 1981 may not have ever occurred had Hawk-Eye been available at the time, with the tennis legend spared a lifetime of people bellowing "you cannot be serious!" at him in the street. So iconic that McEnroe named his own autobiography after the outburst, technology could've made the correct call on one of sport's most memorable moments right there and then.

Until this World Cup, however, Hawk-Eye technology wasn't being widely used in rugby. Upgrading their old video referee system, the new package allows for a far more thorough replay selection for the TMO to sift through, with the feed becoming available in a much quicker time. The idea, at least in theory, is that better decision will be made in faster timeframes, allowing the game to flow more naturally, without mistakes being made that could cost a side on the global stage.

Advertisement

One of the biggest advantages of the new system, in a game specific sense, is deciding on the grounding of a ball when all natural viewing angles have been obscured by surrounding players. Often, tries scored at the base of a maul, with both sets of forwards low to the ground and packed tightly together, are the hardest instances for the referee to see exactly what he needs to in the short time he has to make a decision.

By taking the decision out of his hands and allowing the video technology to more closely track the ball in conjunction with the goal line and surface, it has been much easier to either award a try or reward a defence who've successfully held up the ball. In the past, these decisions were reliant on nothing more than the naked eye and educated guesswork. The margin for error has been greatly reduced.

The Television Match Official looks on during New Zealand's pool stage match with Namibia | PA Images

However, when announcing the inclusion of Hawk-Eye at the tournament, World Rugby were keen to make clear that the decision was two-fold, and not just reliant on making sure on-field decision went the right way. Player welfare, in their words, was also a major concern, and one of the biggest reasons the technology was brought into effect.

READ MORE: The Rugby World Cup's Key Venues

A decision that was apparently 18-months in the making, with plenty of youth games and tournaments used as trial subjects, the technology was also said to help in the identification and management of head injuries, making sure that concussion mismanagement didn't become an unwelcome sub-plot of the tournament. Players, usually the first to complain if denied entry back on to the field, can now be shown precise footage of why exactly the medical team have decided against allowing them to re-join the game.

Advertisement

This, clearly, is far from the last we'll hear about the advancement of video technology in rugby. Its future might actually be the most interesting branch away from what is currently in place, with whispers online about the adoption of x-ray-like technology providing one of the more exciting rumours for what is still in store. For the decisions that even Hawk-Eye can't give a clear picture of through piles of bodies – properly grounded tries, feet in touch obscured by the grasp of defenders – the future of the industry could be about to find the solution.

Rugby officials get more right than wrong these days thanks to the advancement in video technology, both in terms of on-field game decisions and matters of player welfare. That said, nothing is perfect, and the door is still ajar to human error creeping in – all one has to do is ask a Scotsman about that.

However, the longer the sport continues working in tandem with those pioneering the newest in technology the better, as both parties will push one another on to new heights.

For more information on Beats by Dr. Dre visit beatsbydre.com