'Red alert' — mouthguards to flash warning at Rugby World Cup
According to figures from World Rugby, every player set to feature at the World Cup, which will be hosted by England from August 22 to September 27, has signed up to have one fitted by 3D intraoral scan.
So-called "smart" mouthguards have been in use since 2023. The earlier generations sent a signal to a pitch-side laptop monitored by a doctor when it reached a certain lineal and rotational threshold.
The markers were 75G of force for men and 65G for women, and 4500 radians per second squared.
As it stood, such impacts led to the player going off the field for a 12-minute head injury assessment (HIA) once play had stopped.
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The newest generation to be used at the World Cup and beyond would send data as before but would be combined with a transparent mouthguard that would flash red instantly, with referees then advised to stop play.
According to The Times, the mouthguards were not mandatory, but the World Rugby chief medical officer believed everyone should wear one and the number of men's players using them would inevitably rise.
The mouthguards have recently been trialled in Major League Rugby and the World Under-20 Championship.
Dr Éanna Falvey, chief medical officer at World Rugby, said there had been some resistance to the initiative particularly from men.
"We've had players who decided that they don't like the fact that it's a Bluetooth device, we've had players that feel it's uncomfortable, we've had players who don't want to know," he said.
'The women's leagues and teams and competitions, I don't know the reason for it, but they're much more likely to collaborate, they're much more accepting and excited about opportunities in technology.
'We have full opt-in for the World Cup now. There are two people wearing braces so they physically can't wear it, but, other than that, we're full opt-in.'
There have been issues with smart mouthguards sending false signals, including during the recent Super Rugby Pacific season.
The Times reported that World Rugby data suggested that concussion rates were similar in women's rugby to the men's game, ALthough 'head acceleration' events wee 'significantly less likely' with women.
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