Damian McKenzie. Chiefs v Crusaders, DHL Super Rugby Pacific, FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand on the Saturday 23 February 2024. Copyright Photo: Jeremy Ward / www.photosport.nz Photo: Jeremy Ward
Super Rugby Pacific will make temporary changes to the way smart mouthguards are monitored after some technical issues during last weekend's opening round of matches.
Players will continue to wear the smart mouthguards this weekend but will not be required to immediately leave the field for a head injury assessment when their mouthguard triggers an alert to pitch-side doctors.
Instead, players will be checked by an on-field doctor after a trigger alert has been received.
If the doctor has any concerns the player will then leave the field for an HIA.
If the player passes an on-field check, they will still be subject to a full HIA, either at half-time or full-time.
The move comes after there were delays between the data being collected and transferred from the mouthguards during the Super Rugby Pacific season opener between the Chiefs and Crusaders, which resulted in players being forced from the field for head injury assessments at incorrect times.
Anton Lienert-Brown reacts with confusion when told he had to leave the field for an HIA. Photo: Sky Sport
This lead to criticism from players, coaches and pundits, who questioned whether the technology had been implemented too early before any kinks were ironed out.
World Rugby will run further trials in round three of Super Rugby Pacific to test improvements to the data-transfer process, with a view to reinstating the initial alert protocols once these issues are fully resolved.
Players will continue to wear smart mouthguards in training and matches and all trigger alerts measuring an impact above a certain threshold will be managed by medical teams to protect player welfare.
The existing HIA protocols have not been affected and the match day doctor still has the power to remove any injured player for HIA assessment, or to remove a player from the game if necessary.