The upcoming Men’s, Women’s, and U20s Six Nations Championships will carry on pushing the boundaries of innovation in rugby, introducing new tools and technologies to enhance the game for players, officials, and fans alike. Among the most anticipated innovations making its debut in the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations is Touchfinder—an evolution of Sportable’s Smart Ball technology.
What is Touchfinder?
Touchfinder is an advanced officiating tool that provides real-time, highly accurate data on where the ball crosses the touchline from kicks into touch. This deployment of the technology is specifically designed to assist the team of match officials—particularly assistant referees—by providing real-time data that pinpoints the exact location where the ball exits the field, and therefore exactly where the subsequent lineout mark should be set.
Key benefits of this new use case for the smart ball technology include:
Precision ball location data – Identifies the precise location where the ball crosses the plane of touch, facilitating the most accurate decisions possible and fairness throughout the game.
Objective decision-making tools – accurate, reliable, objective data in difficult aspects of the game to aid assistant referees and support their decision making.
Real-time data integration – delivery on insights in real-time, integrating directly into assistant referees’ existing communications systems to assist the flow of the game.
Focus on the critical in-game moments – ‘Touch Finder’ will be especially critical in potentially game deciding areas of the field, close to the try-line or 22-meter line.
The latest law trials and technological innovations in rugby are designed to enhance the flow of the game and simultaneously provide support in key aspects of the game for teams, coaches, and players. At the heart of these changes is supporting match officials, ensuring they have the tools needed to make the best possible decisions in high-pressure moments. Following a successful first phase for the Touchfinder technology in the Men’s Six Nations 2025, the intention is to create new broadcast visualisations to bring the fans even closer to the game.
New technology like ‘Touchfinder’ is a testament to this mission—delivering precise, real-time data that benefits match officials, improves the game’s flow, and strengthens the connection between teams, players, and fans.
As the Guinness Six Nations kicks off this weekend, the rugby world will get its first look at how the Smart Ball technology is shaping the future of officiating and performance analysis.
