Women’s Rugby World Cup: What’s next in the Evolution of In-Game Stats
here is no doubt that over the past few years the production value of our beautiful game has increased 10 fold. Some of this is down to the rise of in-game stats and live performance graphics. Be they possession percentages, carries, tackles made and turnovers or as in recent times ball speed, it has made the whole experience more and more exciting to watch from the comfort of the armchair. Hats off to broadcasters like Sky, and for bringing us deeper into the game.
I was nicely surprised in the recent during the recent Lions series at the use of in-depth statistics that added an extra dimension for fans and analysts alike. Being able to see the momentum swings through metrics like gainline success, territory, and metres made. These insights revealed not just what was happening, but why one team was gaining the upper hand.
With the Women’s Rugby World Cup on the horizon, I have full confidence the broadcasters will up their game per say. Teams and supporters alike will benefit from understanding the finer details of performance:
- Possession and Territory: Who’s dictating the flow of the match?
- Tackles Made and Missed: Defensive resilience under pressure.
- Turnovers Won: Those critical momentum-shifting moments.
- Metres Made and Offloads: The attacking spark that can turn opportunities into scores on the board.
This evolution in statistics isn’t just about elite-level rugby and it shouldn’t, it’s a great opportunity to bring whats happening at the top level and see how it can transfer into grassroots. With this we need to be careful with what is brought in, there needs to be a more positive spin on things especially when coaching younger players. But if we can simplify the data capture and present this back in a very digestible manner we can all learn and grow as coaches and as a team.
There are plenty of analysis platforms out there and sometimes paper and pen works just as well, here at RugbySmarts our platform is built for coaches by coaches to help speed up the performance analysis process. By giving coaches and players access high quality tools with the right data we can bring our game to the next level. Some of our favourite areas to focus on are:
- Set Piece Effectiveness
- Turnovers & Linebreaks
- and 22 meter effectiveness
What are your top 3?
The Women’s Rugby World Cup promises to be a showcase not just of talent and athleticism, but also of how the game is evolving through data. We can’t wait to see what comes next. Thankfully these tools aren’t just for the pros and elite these days, with platforms like RugbySmarts, your rugby video analysis is no longer a mammoth 5 hour chore, you can have all your prep for the week ahead done and dusted in under 60 minutes!
We’d love to get your thoughts or indeed have a chat with you and see how RugbySmarts might help your development journey.
Contact us on +353 85 844 77 22 or email me directly on william@rugbysmarts.com
