Stormers, Bulls and Lions take part in URC's instrumented mouth guard project

South African franchises the Stormers, Bulls and Lions are three of six United Rugby Championship (URC) outfits taking part in a project where players will wear instrumented mouth guards.

The project was launched to provide new data to assist with head injury management. The other URC teams taking part are Scarlets (Wales), Benetton (Italy) and Edinburgh (Scotland).

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In a statement on its official website, the URC said the sensors embedded in the mouth guards provide objective information on the frequency, intensity, and location of head impacts. 

This 'hard data' plays a crucial role in identifying head impact exposure rates, analysing playing positions, training drills, and individual players.

The metrics, provided by the HITIQ system, have the potential to assist in the identification and rehabilitation of concussions, while it also assists in the management of player contact load monitoring.

All six teams received visits from the HITIQ team where their players had their mouths scanned to provide custom-fit devices. As part of the trial, HITIQ provided 160 units.

A statement from URC organisers read: "The URC is committed to assessing entry points for technology trials or proof of concepts that can help to broaden the tools available for the care and protection of players. The development of instrumented mouth guards has seen trials occur with various suppliers across the world, largely driven by World Rugby, but also within URC unions themselves and in elite rugby in other leagues and with continued cross-property collaboration in the sport the shared learnings should benefit the sport.

"Medics and performance teams from all of the teams involved have