Hawk-eye To Be Used At Twickenham
Hawk-Eye technology is to make its rugby union debut at the England match at Twickenham for the World Cup warm-up game against France on Saturday 15th August.
The introduction of the new technology will enable referees and officials to review decisions during matches and will also allow the medical teams to immediately assess incidents and potential injuries by replaying footage.
The Hawk-Eye system, which comprises of up to 36 cameras offering multiple angle replays will be in place throughout the World Cup following a successful trial in the Guinness PRO12 club matches last season, as well as the Women’s World Cup and the Under-20 World Championship.
The Television Match Official (TMO) will have access to enhanced multiple-angle replays in real time and slow motion delivered by Hawk-Eye, which will greatly assist the speed and accuracy of decision making.
Julian Maddock, rugby union producer at Sky Sports said: “The key thing is it can offer zoom-in angles or split-screen angles. If a ball is trapped at the bottom of the ruck going for a try, there will be the ability to zoom in and see if the ball has been grounded.
“While the game is going on, the TMO will now also have the ability to review a suspected incident of off-the-ball foul play separately from the television broadcast. So there should be more accuracy and less time rewinding back and forwards for off-the-ball incidents.”
Maddock also highlighted the advantage of the technology to the medical teams. The availability of video review for match doctors and teams’ medical staff was a key recommendation from World Rugby for player welfare during the World Cup.
“They will see the replays in the medical rooms for the first time this weekend. The medical staff can then, if they see an incident involving a head injury, assess what the protocol should be in terms of whether they should get the player off or not.”
Alan Gilpin, tournament director of the Rugby World Cup, added: “Extensive trials have been undertaken at World Rugby events, across the Pro 12 and other elite matches over the last 12 months and while we continue to test, we are pleased with the performance of the system, which delivers clear benefits for the match-official team, the medical team and for fans.”
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