Newry-based STATSports has added five additional international rugby union teams to its books after signing a deal with the organisers of the Rugby World Cup.
The addition of Canada, Fiji, Samoa, Uruguay and Russia means a total of 12 out of the 20 teams competing in the competition at Tokyo are now using the GPS tracking company’s technology to monitor their players’ performance.
They join Argentina, Ireland, France, England, South Africa, Georgia and the USA on STATSports’ client list.
Sean O’Connor, co-founder and Chief Operations Officer at STATSports, said: “We are hugely proud to have such a significant representation at the most important rugby competition in the world.
“Our technology gives an unrivalled insight into how a player is performing; from distance covered to meters per minute, dynamic stress load to maximum intensity periods. Equipped with this data, the teams can manage players more effectively during games as well as during rest and recovery to make sure they are operating at their peak.
“That is particularly key during the Rugby World Cup where turnaround times can be short and players are involved in a number of high intensity games over a prolonged period.”
As well as international teams, STATSports’ technology is also used by professional rugby clubs worldwide, including the Chiefs, Hurricanes, Blues, Bath Rugby, Narbonne Rugby, Sale Rugby and Wasps Rugby.
The APEX technology tracks each athlete during practice sessions and games, providing direct real-time feedback to coaching staff and players.
It also tracks individual collisions and scrums, reporting impact timing differentials and return-to-feet statistics for each individual player on top of all the standard STATSports metrics, such as speed, distance, accelerations and decelerations.
As well as rugby union, STATSports is heavily involved in rugby league, AFL, NFL, basketball, hockey and athletics. In soccer its client list includes many Premier League clubs including Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as Italian team Juventus and many other international federations including England, Germany and Brazil.
In addition, the company recently welcomed investors including Premier League stars Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Raheem Sterling.
STATSports recently launched its APEX Athlete Series, a wearable athlete performance tracking device, which allows individuals to track their data in the same manner as professional sports players. It retails at £199.
The company is head-quartered in Newry, Northern Ireland, and was founded in 2008 by Alan Clarke and Sean O’Connor.
