By Dave Goosselink
It is what every coach dreams of, seeing the game through the eyes of their team.
A small camera embedded in a player's headgear forms the hub of the TACTIC system.
That footage is transmitted live to a relay pole on the sidelines, and broadcast directly to an analyst's laptop.
Sports scientist Hayden Croft says there is a lot of video analysis in rugby and sport already.
“But it's very much delayed, and it can be the next day before the players are seeing the footage. And the uptake and the learning from that is very minimal.”
Coaches can view the images live, as well as record and replay sections of play on the go.
It is that instant feedback that sets this player-cam device apart.
“Live video feedback is far better for learning, especially for people who are visual learners, as a lot of sportspeople are,” says Mr Croft.
The tool was developed in Dunedin, and an initial prototype trialled with the All Blacks.
The International Rugby Board has not yet approved it for use in games.
But coach of Otago's ITM Cup team, Phil Mooney, has used the technology during his training sessions. He says it highlighted common problems like ball-watching and breakdowns.
“We can question players as to what they're looking at, we can then show them what they're actually looking at, and as I say that enhances our ability to improve their decision-making.”
Players from Otago Boys High School have also been using the system, which forces them to stay on their toes.
Player Paul-Eti Slater says sometimes coaches tell you what they want you to see, “but now the coaches can see what you see”.
It is not just for rugby. The system is aimed at the high performance sports market and will cost around $20,000.
But developers say they are holding off on a commercial release until after the Rugby World Cup, to avoid giving any team a cutting-edge advantage.
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