World Rugby is collaborating with Sportable and Gilbert to undertake the world’s first trial of smart ball technology in a live match officiating capacity at the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa in June.
It is hoped that the smart ball will help match officials make accurate decisions more quickly, tackling a number of common, but challenging aspects of law.
These areas include whether a ball has been passed forward, whether the ball is over the try-line, whether the ball has been touched in flight and line, where touch has been found and whether a lineout throw was straight.
The smart ball is tracked in 3D and real-time with beacons positioned around the pitch to determine the exact position of the ball up to 20 times per second and provide immediate feedback on every kick, pass and throw.
At the World Rugby U20 Championship, the smart balls will assist match officials with the following use cases where visual assessment alone can be challenging and time-consuming:
A direct feed will be made available to the Television Match Official, who will be able to use the information to provide feedback to the referee.
With the future stars of the men’s test arena showcasing their ability, the World Rugby U20 Championship will also be the innovation hub for future technology innovation.
Confirmation of the trial follows the announcement that the TMO Bunker will operate at the tournament, the first time that it has operated in an international competition.
It is not anticipated that smart ball will feature at Rugby World Cup 2023 from an officiating support perspective given the emerging nature of the technology and the need to undertake a full review of outcomes before determining next steps.
World Rugby will also trial the TMO bunker at the World Rugby U20 Championship as part of an ongoing review of the technology to aid decision-making and if successful, could be trialled in test rugby prior to Rugby World Cup 2023.
