The Rugby Football League and PA Sport have announced a new data partnership in time for the start of the new season next month.
The
agreement covers the collection of official match data, a new system
for collating referees’ reports and the development of editorial
content for the RFL, its partners and the media.
New data
services for live rugby league matches will include detailed player and
match statistics from the grounds as they happen, covering Super League
and home Test matches.
PA Sport is employing ex-professional
rugby league players as analysts at the grounds. They “talk” the key
match action down a phone line to a data operator at the PA Sport
headquarters in Howden, East Yorkshire.
Using specially developed
software, statistics will be generated, from simple score flashes to
sin bins, dismissals, and number of scrums. The statistics will be
collated in a database to form a single, official record of rugby
league in the UK.
The new rugby league statistics will be
available to local and national media and selected data will also be
available for fans to view on the official Super League website:
www.superleague.co.uk
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