Rugby World Cup confirms introduction of major TV technology for next month’s action

Another breakthrough for sport.

It's hard to believe but this day next month it's going to be on Rugby World Cup-Eve, and ahead of the tournament the organisers tonight have announced a major innovation for the tournament. After a trial during Saturday's England-France game at Twickenham, World Rugby tonight confirmed that Hawk-Eye’s SMART Replay technology will be used to help out the Television Match Officials, while it will also be used by team medics to identify and review head impacts. The technology will be welcomed by both teams and supporters, and the move by rugby follows Hawk-Eyes's use in tennis, cricket and GAA. What it will mean in real terms will be that the referee will have access to simultaneous multiple angle replays, in real-time and slow motion, along with zoom-functionality delivered by Hawk-Eye’s SMART Replay technology. It won't affect what the ref can ask the TMO, but the man in the stand will have more angles and more options to make his decision. Although it was available on Saturday night, Hawk-Eye was not used during the England-France game, so we may have to wait until next month and the Rugby World Cup's opening match on September 18th to see how it will work during a game. It should also eradicate some medical errors over concussion, most notably when George North recently appeared to be concussed in TV replays that medics at the time missed. H/T World Rugby