Wallabies embracing new technology as they prepare for Rugby World Cup
Iain Payten From: The Daily Telegraph July 13, 2011 12:00AM
The Wallabies have embraced cutting edge tablet and smartphone technology in a bid to get a jump on rivals at the World Cup later this year.
With only 58 days before the tournament kicks off, Robbie Deans's squad are seeking to use every spare second in a short countdown and have helped design Wallaby-specific technology on new Blackberry devices to help cut any wasted hours.
As part of a new IT partnership between the ARU and Research in Motion, all Wallabies players and coaches have been given souped-up Blackberry Playbook tablets and phones and are already using them in their World Cup preparation.
Trainings have been filmed using the Playbook and the footage immediately reviewed (in the middle of the field) for any problems that need fixing. At a recent scrum session, coaches and players filmed the set-piece action and forwards then crowded around to watch the replay before repacking.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said the speed of the feedback was a huge benefit when compared to the past practice of filming training and taking up to 24 hours to digest the footage.
"It's a great tool to have," Deans said.
"To be able to do something on a training field then review it two seconds later, and possibly address an area of need, immediately is so much more effective in the past where you may have done things but not fully comprehended them until you'd reviewed footage later that day or the next day."
Deans has long been a pioneer of seeking a winning edge through IT. He was one of the first to employ a full time IT analyst at the Crusaders in 2000; the same expert, Andrew Sullivan, is still with him in the Wallabies.
The pair trialled left-field ideas like headgear-mounted cameras; Sullivan has just taken receipt of a 7m-high retractable pole with which to film a bird's eye view of scrums and lineouts.
The Blackberry partnership will see players have relevant footage for analysis sent to their Torch phones, which are linked to the Playbooks. The Wallabies will also transfer their team diaries, training programs and strategic notes on to the devices.
The possibility Suzy the waitress might be Suzy the IT hacker at the 2011 World Cup has been considered and guarded against, says Sullivan.
The ARU also created two new fan applications for Blackberry users, with the MyRugby and MyRugby TV apps launched yesterday.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1226093319074
