The new technology is being incorporated into the existing HIA protocol for all elite competitions that start from January 2024. No aspects of the HIA protocol are being removed or replaced. Instead, the introduction of instrumented mouthguards is an additional safeguard to improve player protection.
The introduction of the smart mouthguards at the elite level of the game is driven by the game wide commitment to prioritise player welfare. The Guinness Men’s Six Nations is the leading the way as the first elite men’s competition to use the new technology.
The instrumented mouthguards will provide in-game alerts to the independent pitch side medical team. In the eventuality that a player experiences a head acceleration event, the match day medical staff will receive an alert to be able to inform the team medics and match officials that a player needs to be removed for an off-field HIA1 assessment.
Commenting on the trial introduction, Julie Paterson, director of rugby at Six Nations Rugby, said, “Six Nations Rugby, its unions and federations are focused on driving the game-wide commitment to prioritise player welfare and innovate in this area to ensure we are using the latest technology and enhancing our processes where relevant, to protect the players.
“The technology around instrumented mouthguards has been developed extensively over recent seasons through the work undertaken by World Rugby. The ability to expand the HIA process to incorporate this technology is a testament to the player welfare commitment across the game. Their introduction into the championship this year has been through collaboration with all six unions, leagues, clubs and the players. This highlights the positive steps being taken when rugby comes together with a shared objective to support the game and its players.”