Players in this year’s Six Nations will use instrumented mouthguards to help medics detect incidents that require off-field head injury assessments, Six Nations Rugby said on Friday.
Players will be provided with custom-fitted mouthguards that deliver in-game alerts to the medical team to indicate whether a pitchside assessment is necessary.
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“Six Nations Rugby, its Unions and Federations are focused on driving the game-wide commitment to prioritise player welfare and innovate in this area,” Julie Paterson, director of rugby at Six Nations Rugby, said.
“[It is] to ensure we are using the latest technology and enhancing our processes where relevant, to protect the players.”
The mouthguards will be worn during training sessions as well as matches throughout their trial introduction.
The Six Nations runs from Feb. 2 to March 16.