Munster will be one of the first teams to test out the new Hawk-Eye experiment.
World Rugby announced last week that they will be trialing Hawk-Eye’s technology over the coming months, and it’s set to make its debut this weekend in Llaneli, as Munster take on the Scarlets.
Wales Online are reporting that the game in Parc y Scarlets will be the first match used during the trial, which will continue in selected Guinness Pro12 games for the rest of the season, and the u-20 World Championships this summer.
A World Rugby statement said they’re hoping the trial can help both decision-making and player welfare, and CEO Brett Gosper added that the increased technology will aid the referee, the TMO, medical teams with vital decisions.
“Central to our sport is the integrity of player welfare and the match official decision making process and we are delighted to be collaborating with Hawk-Eye and ITV as well as PRO12 Rugby and Sky to determine how we can enhance speed and accuracy in these critical areas.
“While this is not a fait accompli, we are excited by the proposed system developed by Hawk-Eye that has clear benefits for the match official team, the medical team and fans around the world and these live trials will help us determine a technology approach for Rugby World Cup.
Hawk-Eye’s ‘SMART Replay’ is already being used by a number of sports including baseball, athletics, horse racing, football, badminton, volleyball, snooker, Australian rules football, and has even featured in gaelic football and hurling in recent seasons.
