A NEWRY firm has signed a deal with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to provide its GPS tracking and performance monitoring technology for every senior professional player on the island of Ireland.
STATSports will supply the Ireland men’s, women’s, U20s and representative teams as well as the national 7s squads with its revolutionary Apex device which tracks players during games and training, and provides actionable feedback to coaching, athletic performance, and medical staff. The agreement comes as the Ireland teams begin their Six Nations campaigns this weekend against France.
The Newry company has also reached an agreement to supply all four Irish provincial teams. Leinster and Munster have been added to the company's client list which already included Ulster and Connacht, as well as 20 other major rugby union clubs.
Speaking about the deal, the IRFU's head of performance and science, Nick Winkelman said STATSports is a "world-class business" with a world-leading performance analysis solution in the Apex unit.
“In high-performance sport, and particularly in an environment where player welfare is a key priority, it is a necessity for our provinces and representative teams to have access to quality data that can inform and shape performance, recovery and injury prevention.”
STATSports, CCO and Co-founder Sean O’Connor, said securing the new deal with the IRFU was "huge" for the company.
"We are proud to offer a world-class product to not only the national team but all four provincial teams throughout Ireland who compete at the highest level of club rugby in Europe. Plus, with STATSports being founded in the island of Ireland, it is even more significant."
STATSports has become the world’s leading provider of GPS player tracking and analysis solutions by partnering with some of the biggest sports franchises in the world and delivering a innovative performance monitoring device that is worn by athletes during training and matches to collect detailed data on their physical performance in the context of their sport.
Other high-profile clients in the world of sport include Manchester United, NBA franchises, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and the Irish Football Association, while both Dublin and Mayo utilised STATSports devices on their way to last year’s All-Ireland Final.
