Expected points and momentum tracker among additions brought by Opta and Capgemini
World Rugby has unveiled three new sets of insights for the World Cup, which gets underway today, 8 September.
In use at an internatinoal tournament for the first time, the insights have been created in partnership with Stats Perform’s Opta and sponsor Capgemini.
The first of the three insights is Pitch Position, which uses data from the last three years of tests, and will add in World Cup games as they’re played, to evaluate the zones on the pitch where the attacking team is most likely to score a try. It can also be used to show the likelihood of a team successfully defending a scoring opportunity that starts in each area of the field.
Expected Points, similar to expected goals in football, predicts the final score of a match. It can also show the expected performance of a team in terms of points and tries when their captain is makes a certain decision, for example going for a try or kicking. It uses data gathered from “thousands” of matches over the last ten years, with an XP algorithm that takes into account the current score, how many minutes have been played and if a team have a player advantage, and more.
Finally, Momentum Tracker uses AI to calculate which team has the best scoring opportunity in each moment. This includes where a team gains the momentum, or ‘go-forward’, through superior defensive play, denying their opponent attacking opportunities, not only when they are in attack. The model takes into account the current score in the game, on-field player advantage, time in the game, field location, team in possession, phase count and pre-game score predictions.
Alan Gilpin, World Rugby CEO, said: “World Rugby are excited to be working with our valued partners to innovate rugby and the match viewing experience, delivering brand new insights for fans across the globe for Rugby World Cup 2023.”
No comments yet