The 2019 Rugby World Cup came to a thrilling conclusion last weekend with South Africa beating England 32−12 in the final to claim their third title, equalling New Zealand’s record.
Throughout the duration of the competition, Stats Perform’s clients produced a wealth of content, using rich data and expertly crafted content from Opta and Omnisport to cover the tournament in the deepest detail, creating an engaging viewing experience for audiences everywhere. From the broadcast sector, to digital media and team performance, we helped clients enjoy a successful tournament from start to finish.
Our Coverage of Every Kick, Tackle and Try
Across every fixture, Opta collected data from every kick, tackle, try and more, live and in full detail. This data was delivered through our feeds, widgets and much more as the action unfolded in Japan.
With over 500 Opta Facts produced across the entirety of the fixtures, 48 pre-match commentator packs, and much more serving over 30 clients worldwide, Stats Perform were at the heart of the tournament throughout.
Our Client Highlights
Broadcast Sector
From powering on-screen graphics to informing in-studio commentary and narratives with unique insights, Stats Perform work with broadcasters to provide the essential data and support they need to bring their sports coverage to life.
Official UK broadcaster of the Rugby World Cup, ITV, used Stats Perform data editorial service to drive global conversation throughout the tournament.
Opta’s Twitter account for Rugby coverage sparked an on-air conversation after one of the 500 Opta Facts across the tournament was tweeted by OptaJonny, about Italian forward Polledri. The commentators were able to engage their audience with an interesting and surprising stat about how the Italian forward had enjoyed the most success in beating defenders in the tournament.
This showcases the valuable role that data-driven insights play in helping broadcasters create relevant, engaging content for audiences everywhere.
Digital media
Stats Perform helped news, papers and sports media outlets globally enrich their outputs throughout the tournament. From covering the biggest breaking news, to powering both tournament and match-specific previews and post-match analysis, Stats Perform enriched the media space from the tournament’s kick-off to the final whistle and beyond.
From the tournament outset, national French newspaper, L’Equipe, curated a weekly feature coined Retro Data. Using historical Opta data, the newspaper produced a series revisiting historical Rugby World Cup tournaments, allowing readers to relive the best games from tournament’s past.
After a disappointing semi-final loss to the eventual tournament champions South Africa, Wales Online, one of the biggest media outlets in the country, used a range of Opta Facts to shine a light on why the Welshmen underwent semi-final heartbreak at the hands of the Springboks.
OptaJonny’s Facts formed the basis of the article, highlighting how Wales fell short in making sufficient ground by recording a record low in Rugby World Cup history. The piece also made use of Omnisport’s video content, featuring a 5 Things from the tournament to add further insight to the piece, as well as highlights from press conferences embedded into the piece, creating a rich insight into the tournament for their readers.
Ahead of the tournament, national UK newspaper, The Telegraph, produced a series of tactical guides previewing each pool. The guides made use of Opta data to paint a picture of each team’s playing styles and standout players while casting a verdict on their chances of progression.
“Over the past four years, England have kicked more than any other side at an average of 26.5 times per match. Only Wales (148.2) have accumulated a higher average of tackles than England’s tally of 146.8 per match. And nobody boasts more than their average of 7.3 turnovers won per match.”
After Australia’s disappointing World Cup exit, the Australian paper broke the news of Cheika’s resignation using Omnisport Video. The video, enriched with Opta data, gave an insightful overview to their unsuccessful campaign as well as Cheika’s overall reign as the Wallabies’ boss.
Ahead of the tournament’s kick-off, British newspaper, The Times, produced a full double page spread using Opta data to showcase how the game of Rugby has evolved, looking at tournaments from 1987 to the present day.
Team Performance
Through the integration of detailed data, cutting-edge analytics, video footage and customised reports, teams can uncover tactically relevant information to inform pre-match preparation, in-game analysis and post-match review.
Stats Perform provided team performance services to every team competing at the tournament. The four semi-finalists had access to OptaPro’s RugbyHub product throughout the competition to support their own specific post-match analysis and opposition assessment workflows.
The RugbyHub includes video integrated with Opta data as well as detailed data reports on both player and team levels such as kicking success rates and more, used to create key performance insights as well as depict wider competition trends.
Our clients reached audiences everywhere with insightful, detailed coverage of this year’s Rugby World Cup using Stats Perform’s services across numerous sectors. Get in touch to find out more about our services.
