Smart Mouthguards to be worn by players in Six Nations

Players to be provided with custom fitted Instrumented Mouthguards to be worn during training sessions and on match day.

PROTECTION PARAMOUNT: Instrumented Mouthguards are to be worn during the 2024 Men's Guinness Six Nations. Pic: United Rugby Championship.

The Guinness Six Nations have announced that players across all six unions will use fitted Instrumented Mouthguards which are designed to deliver in-game alerts as an indication for an off-field Head Injury Assessment 1 (HIA1) assessment.

This new technology is to be incorporated with the existing HIA protocol for all elite competitions from the start of January 2024. It will not replace or remove other aspects of the HIA protocol, it is merely an additional safeguard in improving player protection.

The use of the new smart mouthguards in the elite level of the game is driven by the commitment to prioritise player welfare with the Men's Guinness Six Nations being the first elite men's competition to use this technology. 

Players will be provided with custom-fitted Instrumented Mouthguards to be worn during training sessions as well as on match day.

The smart mouthguards have sensors embedded that provide objective information on the frequency, intensity and location of impacts to the head. 

The mouthguards will send in-game alerts to the independent pitch side medical team. If a player experiences a head acceleration event during a game, the Team Medics and Match Officials will receive an alert that tells them that the player needs to be removed from the field of play for a HIA1 assessment.

Julie Paterson, Director of Rugby at Six Nations Rugby spoke about the introduction of the trial of the smart mouthguards to the Six Nations. 

“Six Nations Rugby, its Unions and Federations are focused on driving the game-wide commitment to prioritise player welfare and innovate in this area, to ensure we are using the latest technology and enhancing our processes where relevant, to protect the players.

"The technology around Instrumented Mouthguards has been developed extensively over recent seasons through the work undertaken by World Rugby. The ability to expand the HIA process to incorporate this technology is testament to the player welfare commitment across the game. 

"Their introduction into the Championship this year has been through collaboration with all six unions, leagues, clubs and the players. This highlights the positive steps being taken when rugby comes together with a shared objective to support the game and its players.”