GPS ANALYSIS AND player self-assessment are just two of the areas Leinster target to stay at the cutting edge of rugby technology.
The three-time European champions try to find an advantage over their rivals through smart innovation, team manager Guy Easterby said at the 2014 Web Summit in Dublin today.
Easterby admits that the use of technology and sporting data in rugby is still in its infancy compared to more advanced sports like Formula 1.
While harvesting GPS data has become the norm at provincial and international level, Leinster are trying to beat their rivals when it comes to making sense of the numbers.
“Every single player in training and in a match every single time they go out will wear a GPS unit which will tell us how far they’re running, how fast they’re running, how big the hits are that they’re taking,” he said.
“It’s an area which in the past couple of years has really grown.
“Yes it can tell us how far someone can run but can it tell us how injuries occur, or when someone’s at top speed how in danger are they, those sort of things that we haven’t got to the bottom of yet because we’re still very young in terms of the amount of time spent with [the technology].”
Guy Easterby was in conversation on the Sports Summit stage of the Web Summit today. Source: Web Summit
Alongside this quantitative data Leinster add a more holistic approach to evaluating player fitness and injury management, Easterby explained.
“[We have] players every morning, filling out forms in terms of how they’re feeling.
“Are they stressed? Do they have stresses outside of rugby? How did they sleep? What’s their mood like?
“Technology-wise we’re not ahead of the game but can we be innovative within the game of rugby union to make sure that we get the most out of the technology that we use? Yes we can.”
While technology has brought many benefits, it also has its pitfalls — particularly when it comes to players’ use of social media.
“Does that give an insight that you’re not playing? Does that give an insight that your ankle is sore and if there’s a chance, they might just stand on it in a ruck?