Smart mouthguard causes concern in Super Rugby

World Rugby’s smart mouthguard technology has already drawn fierce criticism from players.

Crusaders skipper Scott Barrett called the mandated safety effort “a step too far” after his team suffered a 33-29 loss to the Waikato Chiefs on Friday night.

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SMART MOUTHGUARD DRAWS FIRE

World Rugby have made the smart mouthgard technology mandatory.

Matchday medical personnel monitor the mouthguards for alarms and can take players out of the game for head injury evaluations.

Crusaders lock Quinten Strange and the Chiefs backs Anton Lienert-Brown and Quinn Tupaea all appeared perplexed when summoned off the pitch during the high-profile championship opener in Hamilton, a replay of last year’s final.

All three returned to the game after medical examinations.

ALL BLACKS STAR HITS OUT

Barrett, an experienced All Black, described the endeavour as disruptive and capable of influencing the outcome of a match.

“Honestly, I think it’s probably a step too far for a player,” he said.

“When you’re getting dragged and you’re looking around — ‘what actually happened?’

“Obviously we want player welfare and that’s paramount. But I think if you’re influencing the game when key players are going off and they don’t know what for, I think that can be frustrating for a player.”

CHIEFS ALSO BEMOAN ISSUES WITH MOUTHGUARD TECHNOLOGY 

Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan said All Black back Lienert-Brown’s departure late in the game could have swung the outcome.

“Anton didn’t feel like he needed to come off,” McMillan said.

“The tough thing for us was really that the game was right in the balance. You’re making decisions, around do you exhaust your bench, could it go to extra-time, do we need to save somebody?

“And really those decisions got taken away from us because of the head assessments to Quinn and Anton.”

Similar worries arose when the mouthguard technology was tested at a women’s international competition in New Zealand late last year.

Players from the world champion Black Ferns said that the mouthguards were bigger than usual, making it difficult to breathe and speak.