England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) governing body has renewed and expanded its partnership with Kitman Labs, the sports data intelligence and analytics firm.
Through the deal, the RFU will continue to leverage Kitman Labs’ suite of centralized performance analytics software.
Kitman Labs solutions, applied at both the England men’s and women’s national teams, will now through the expansion of the partnership become available at club level in England’s men’s top-tier Premiership, second-tier Championship, and women’s top-tier Premiership Women’s competitions.
The centralization of the data and combination of the datasets, which brings together medical, performance, coaching, and talent development data into a single integrated platform, allows real-time cross-departmental collaboration.
Speaking on the partnership’s expansion, Kitman Labs founder and chief executive Stephen Smith stated: “The expansion across the men’s and women’s domestic teams will help provide all stakeholders with a complete, objective picture of player health and readiness.
“The Intelligence Platform will be a formidable tool for all stakeholders in helping to reduce (and understand) injury risk, manage player workload, and enhance performance at every level of the sport.”
Meanwhile, the RFU has also announced the appointment of Anthony Mundy to the role of director of venue.
Through the role, Mundy will oversee commercial activity at the RFU’s 82,000-capacity Twickenham Stadium, its on-site hotel, fitness center, and the World Rugby Museum.
Recently renamed the Allianz Stadium as part of a major new naming rights deal the titular insurance giant, Mundy will operate year-round both in the international rugby season and outside of it when Twickenham hosts major conferences and events, such as the upcoming Leaders Week sports summit (October 16-17).
Mundy joins the RFU from English Premier League soccer side Leicester City, where he has been operations director for the past five years.
Before that, he had also been operations director at Lancashire County Cricket Club and, perhaps most relevantly for his current role, facilities director at the 32,753-capacity Coventry Arena (most popularly known as the Ricoh Arena).
Bill Sweeney, RFU chief executive, said of Mundy’s appointment: “Anthony joins at a crucial point in our planning and delivery of a number of key transformational projects including the redevelopment of our stadium.
“Our plans will significantly enhance the visitor experience and ensure the stadium is fit for purpose for decades to come and his experience will be invaluable in delivering this. We really look forward to him joining us at the end of the year as a key member of the executive team.”
