How Harrogate RUFC are embracing AI in pursuit of promotion
The grip Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having on modern life, good or bad, is starting to impact on the sporting realm, leaving clubs across the spectrum with a conundrum – ignore it in favour of traditional methods, or embrace it as the future.
Long before he got the reins to his own club, Harrogate RUFCs first ever full-time director of rugby, Jake Brady, had decided he was going to embrace it.
In fact, he was still general manager at Leeds Tykes when the seeds were sewn about how he would use it to inform his decision-making when he stepped down two divisions in the summer to take over at Rudding Lane.
“It was a guy from Bath University who got in touch with me on LinkedIn last year, he needed a bit of help developing an AI programme,” begins Brady. “We had lots of Zoom calls about how I would use it as a rugby coach and they developed it from there. And it’s been awesome.”
Brady is using AI for statistical analysis of his team’s performance in Regional North East One, English rugby’s fifth tier.
“They code all the games, give you the stats and the read-outs,” he explains. “I set the squad some targets in pre-season that I wanted them to focus on, one was defensive targets; completion percentage, penalty counts that we give, set-piece, scrum and lineout and a target on how we exit our territory.
“After every game I’m reviewing the progress against that metric. The time it saves a human having to stay up all night working it out is really helpful.
“We get it Sunday morning first thing, or even Saturday night. They’re secretive about how they do it, but they’ve trained AI to watch a rugby game and give you all the stats from it and all the players’ individual clips.
“All players have access to the online platform to go and watch their own clips and you even get a WhatsApp saying: “Hello Jake, your game versus Heath and all your involvements are ready to watch’.”
“I’ve graphed it out and you can see some decent improvements in all areas; in defence for example, we were at 88 per cent tackle completion on Saturday at Heath, our target is 90 per cent. At the start of the season we were down in the mid-70s.”
A glance at the scoreline would suggest that AI’s involvement in rugby union is not foolproof. Harrogate lost the game 13-5, but they were the first team to restrict the unbeaten league leaders to just two tries and the basic four points for a victory.
“I doesn’t tell you everything,” acknowledges Brady. “It gives you the numbers but obviously there’s a lot of context around that as well; opponents, the weather etc.
“You’ve got to look at it with the understanding of how you’re playing the game. It’s a really good tool that informs training on a Tuesday and a Thursday, and selection on a Saturday, who’s playing well, who’s not playing well.
“But it’s not going to coach the team for you.”
Their rivals vying for promotion to National Two North may scoff - second-placed Ilkley among them - given Harrogate have lost twice in their opening seven games and are eight points off top spot.
But Brady - after two season-long promotion battles with Leeds, lost and then won - knows it is all about the long game.
“The game on Saturday against Heath, they’re probably the strongest team in the league, they’ve got five points in all their games, putting some good scorelines up,” says Brady, whose team return to action after a break this weekend when hosting Ilkley on November 8.
“We pushed them close on Saturday, but they deserved it.
“We lost to Penrith, second game of the season. That was a difficult game for us that came just a little too early in our progress. If we were to play that game this Saturday, home or away, I’m confident we’d have no issues.”