World Rugby sticks to its gums
Super Rugby Pacific fans witnessed teething issues and players have voiced concerns with new mouthguards in the opening round of the competition, but it’s a work in progress for the betterment of the sport, World Rugby says.
Crusaders captain Scott Barrett slammed the new smart mouthguards after three players were sent to the sideline to undergo concussion protocols during critical moments in the Chiefs and Crusaders game on Friday night.
One on them, Crusaders lock Quinten Strange, was ordered off in the 15th minute completely unaware why he would be needing an HIA, having taken no bang to the head. Chiefs centre Anton Lienert-Brown was similarly made to leave the park in the 75th minute with the game on an absolute knife-edge.
Both players passed their assessments. The mouthguards contain technology to measure the impact of head acceleration events on the tooth – using gyroscopes and accelerometers – and send data via Bluetooth to the team doctor who is monitoring on the sideline.
If the data spikes, game officials are informed and players are asked to go to the sideline to undergo HIA protocols.
World Rugby’s chief medical officer Professor Éanna Falvey told Sky’s Breakdown the mouthguards were a “safety initiative”.
He acknowledged “teething problems” over their introduction and said Super Rugby experienced eight alerts during the first round, which was more than expected. Six thousand head acceleration events were monitored during the opening Super Round.
There was also a delay in sending players to the sideline for concussion protocols because of the time taken for the data to reach the team doctor from the mouthguards, he said.
But taking a cautious approach can limit the risk of further injury, Falvey said. For every 15 minutes players spend on the park after a concussion incident, it can delay their recovery by three days, he said.
“Not only in the longer term does it affect them, but in the short term they may not be playing properly, they may be at more risk of further injury, and we need to understand this and manage it,” he told the Breakdown.
“Like everything else, no one likes change. When we bring in something new, it’s an uncomfortable time … but we’re confident we can work with Super Rugby … to make the process better.”
Super Rugby is just the latest competition to have the mouth guards introduced. They’ve been used in community rugby in Otago since 2021, the Black Ferns wore them during the World Cup and last year’s WXV, and during the Farah Palmer Cup.
Six Nations teams have also been wearing them, with only one alert in the first six rounds.
As many as 8000 players will have the new mouthguards this year, Falvey said.
Former All Blacks star wing Jeff Wilson told Newsable’s podcast that World Rugby needs to provide more clarity on the issue.
“If you add something into the game, you need to be really, really clear on the impact it might have – and ultimately what we saw was ... confusion. ,
“It’s certainly going to be a talking point for the next seven days, and World Rugby is going to have to do some explaining,” Wilson said yesterday.