British and Irish Lions will use ‘breakthrough real time’ technology against South africa

REVEALED: The Lions’ secret weapon to beat South Africa is ‘breakthrough’ real-time technology that measures performance and wellbeing – and it will allow them to make crucial in-game changes during crunch Test series

  • British and Irish Lions have enlisted the latest player performance technology 
  • They are looking to topple South Africa in the Test series which starts this week
  • Lions are first sports team in the world to use the PLAYER.Connect dashboard 

The British and Irish Lions have enlisted the latest player performance technology in their bid to topple South Africa in the Test series that begins on Saturday.

The Lions are the first sports team in the world to use the PLAYER.Connect dashboard that is designed to enhance performance, wellbeing and recovery.

Data is collected in real time from the various devices worn by players such as GPS trackers and heart rate monitors into one dashboard, allowing it to be easily viewed, analysed and acted upon.

The British and Irish Lions have enlisted the latest player performance technology

Warren Gatland's outfit are first sports team in the world to use PLAYER.Connect dashboard

Warren Gatland’s outfit are first sports team in the world to use PLAYER.Connect dashboard

Previously, because all data had to be collated manually by an analyst, the information was not available until two days after the event, placing limitations on the value of the data.

It has been used throughout the Lions tour to date, including shaping decisions on when to replace players in-game and monitoring training loads to mitigate against injury.

‘The Vodafone PLAYER.Connect platform is a huge breakthrough in performance monitoring,’ Lions head of strength and conditioning Paul Stridgeon said.

‘The dashboard lets us maximise the output of our current monitoring and is helping us provide detailed analysis of all wellness, training and match data throughout the tour.

‘We are already starting to see the benefits and are confident that using this platform will support our ambition to beat the Springboks.’

The three-Test series starts on Saturday in Cape Town before heading to Johannesburg on Saturday July 31 and Saturday August 8.

The Lions tasted defeat against a very strong South Africa A side last week but head into the Tests on the back of a big 49-3 win over Stormers.

Lions secured an emphatic win over DHL Stormers on Saturday ahead of South Africa series

Lions secured an emphatic win over DHL Stormers on Saturday ahead of South Africa series

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