Managing More Players – Without Creating More Work
With New Zealand Rugby’s new Wider Training Group initiative expanding Super Rugby squads beyond their traditional core numbers, clubs are now managing larger training environments than ever.
For the Blues Rugby, that means balancing established senior players, development athletes, 12 added Wider Training Group members and short-term replacements – all within the same environment.
The ability to manage a growing number of players in a session has quickly become essential.
With more players comes more units to manage, more data to process and more operational workload behind the scenes. For the Blues performance staff, one of the most timely upgrades within Apex 2.0 has been the increased download capacity of the Smart Dock.
“This year with pre-season especially we have a lot more players – we’ve got development players, Wider Training Group and replacements as well.
With the increased number of players, we have an increased number of units needed, and with the new Smart Dock having a larger capacity, it allows me to download the data so much quicker by doing all pods together.”
Rather than spending additional time managing devices and processing downloads, staff can spend more time analysing what actually happened on the field.
“This allows me to spend more time looking at what the players have done, as opposed to just downloading the data and sending the report.
I have more time to look at the data in more detail post-session.”
Bianca can now spend time using the data, as opposed to worrying about getting the data out as quickly as possible to other performance staff – giving the Blues more from their data overall.
Managing Larger Squads In-Session
The added squad depth also creates challenges during training itself.
With development players, Wider Training Group athletes and short-term replacements all training alongside senior players, monitoring larger groups live has become increasingly important.
For the Blues performance staff, one of the most timely upgrades within Apex 2.0 has been Sonra Live’s expanded capacity, allowing them to monitor up to 96 players simultaneously.
Monitoring players live becomes even more important when managing a squad made up of very different physical profiles.
“Each player in the squad is different – we go from very senior players to younger boys that are just coming through the ranks.
Having that increased live data ability to reflect what they’re doing on the field immediately enables us to adapt what they’re doing.”
Using live STATSports data displayed directly on iPads, coaches and sports science staff can make immediate adjustments as drills unfold – helping maintain training standards across a larger squad while ensuring players are physically prepared for elite competition.
Having the ability to monitor up to 96 players ensures that no player is missed, all data is collected and coaches are fully informed throughout the session – enabling full informed decisions to be made on the training field.
Supporting Return to Play Progressions
The live capabilities of STATSports also play an important role in the Blues rehabilitation and return to play processes, particularly when managing lower limb injuries common within rugby.
During rehabilitation, carefully controlling running exposure is critical to ensuring athletes progress safely through each recovery stage.
Bianca explains:
“During each running session, we know exactly what speed they’re hitting, and we can tick that off, and then for the next one, progress to the next stage.”
Using live data, the Blues can accurately monitor whether athletes are achieving the required running thresholds while remaining within prescribed limits.
With the increased range of the Smart Beacon, players away from the main training group are still captured within Sonra Live.
The main training sessions can be happening on one field , and a rehab group can be on another field – and all will have their data available live on one iPad.
For example, by tracking speed exposure in real time, the performance and medical staff can better manage recovery, helping players rebuild match readiness while reducing the risk of setbacks or reinjury.
Without this, decisions can’t be made reliably on field – reducing the efficiency of each sessions.
Also, with forwards and backs often working on opposite sides of the field, and rehab gf maintaining access to live player data across multiple training groups is critical for both coaches and performance staff throughout the session.
As mentioned, the improved Smart Beacon has enabled Live Data
“It’s really nice having the longer range on the beacons because I can take the iPad anywhere to any of the coaches and when we split into forwards and backs it makes communication easier and keeps everyone connected”.
Share article
