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The Latest Awesome GoPro Footage Is From a Camera Mounted on a Rugby Ref

Mar. 8, 2013 10:00pm Liz Klimas

Watching rugby on either in the bleachers or on TV might be as close as you ever want to come to the extremely physical contact sport, but thanks to the new “RefCam” fans can get even more of a sense of what it’s like to be on the field.

A YouTube video posted of a Fox Sports out of Australia reported that referee Chris Pollock debuted the around-the-ear camera technology last week. The footage was tweeted by GoPro suggesting it might be one of the company’s mountable cameras.

Rugby RefCam Lets Fans See the Refs Perspective

Referee Chris Pollock wearing a camera around his ear to give the audience his perspective on the field. (Image: YouTube screenshot)

“It’s an absolute game changer,” Fox Sports’ Sean Maloney said of the RefCam.

The footage from the camera is transmitted by a radio-frequency system inside the ref’s vest.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

We spotted the new camera on Reddit first and fans are showing how excited they are on the social news website.

“The best thing is that this footage just went viral and is on the front page. Has rugby content ever made the front page of reddit before?” the top comment Redditor Pingable on the thread read.

Given that the camera can also pick up on sound, some on Reddit were wondering if it would change player behavior.

“[I'm] pretty sure they will [tone] it down, but definitely there will be those ‘heat of the moment’ incidents going on,” the Redditor going by Das_Goon, who posted the video on the site initially, wrote.

Another Redditor wrote that a similar idea was tried by the US 7s team, but the cameras was mounted on the referree’s chest.

“This was SO MUCH BETTER,” msmack wrote. “At the US 7s it was pretty useless, as the refs body is rarely facing the same direction as their head unless running. This looked awesome and hopefully is widely introduced.”

Watch Fox Sports showing off the technology:

Now will such a device make it into other sports? Bleacher Report pointed out that such a system would make the calls by refs in the NFL, for example, more transparent or it could be used as another perspective for the highlight reel.

“After a great NFL hit or an amazing MLB play, you could get the official’s perspective, getting the vantage point of someone who is actually on the field,” Bleacher Report’s Gabe Zaldivar wrote.

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Comments (16)

Ssdd
Posted on March 30, 2013 at 11:23pm
2nd rower for steel city (Pitt) no pads , Head down running ,shorts in the snow ,playing on ice ,Now that’s fun.

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media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:36am
Grown men playing games with balls, and we have radioactive waste to dispose of, can you at least put the remote control down long enough to build the robots and let them clean it up?

I know, shut up, and get with the program? This is not about blame, its about admitting, ha ha, we goofed, our bad, lets fix this? Some people will not get jobs in America because people want to hire only people that can speak the language of illegal aliens and English? That’s just wrong? That’s NOT descrimination?

Don’t ask Al Gore, he might start wondering which aliens are we talking about? You want to travel the galaxy, so you can build nuclear plants and leave the waste by products on the surface? Even if aliens did not exist, we would sabotage space craft to keep men on Earth as long as it took?

Am I giving you an opportunity to ignore me, or am I spicing up the conversation to help us prioritize what needs to be done?

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TheRef
Posted on March 9, 2013 at 11:22am
Rugby is a REAL man’s sport. Most football players could not take this abuse on their bodies. The guys I have played with and know have ben doing this for years. Ok Ok it is a little tough on your ears!

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jas7751
Posted on March 9, 2013 at 7:40am
Is that the Ref singing?

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Joss
Posted on March 9, 2013 at 6:01am
That’s not a GoPro camera.

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Brian_Damage
Posted on March 9, 2013 at 1:12am
I am not much into sports, but I could definitely become a fan if this catches on…pretty cool!

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- carhouse
  Posted on March 9, 2013 at 4:21am
  Give Blood,…. Play Rugby!
  
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thegreatcarnac
Posted on March 8, 2013 at 11:27pm
Rugby is fun to play and to watch once fans get the hang of the rules. It is fast paced and hard hitting. I think it would catch on in America better than we think if it was televised more. They are some rough guys and no pads or helmets.

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- Disgusted_150
  Posted on March 9, 2013 at 11:26am
  The typical American sports fan does not have the patience for the sport. That is why, in my opinion, it has not caught on. Even so, I will continue playing and advocating…rugby in the olympics will help. I will skip the ridiculous “my sport is better than yours” argument, simply because I enjoy watching football and I enjoy playing rugby. Each sport has their own merits and things most anyone enjoys about them. The U.S. could really do some really good things in the world cup and various other series if we had more support for it. The camera on ref is a GREAT idea!
  
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The-Monk
Posted on March 8, 2013 at 10:50pm
We didn’t have those when I played Rugby. But, of course… we didn’t need them.

Outside Center and Wing were my positions. I’ve always loved to run really fast. : )

Would be nice, I guess, to have video of those days but, it would be like watching old “other” things and Monks still prefer “live” action and not re-runs. LOL

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- carhouse
  Posted on March 9, 2013 at 4:39am
  I was a scrumhalf CCSU late 80′s,… balls out!!
  
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- hawkeyez
  Posted on March 9, 2013 at 7:10am
  #5 here. Played for a D1 club until age 45. Now coaching High School.
  
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TJexcite
Posted on March 8, 2013 at 10:48pm
Start the White House petitions now for the MLB and the NFL to get this on opening day. There would be nothing better than seeing a home run from home plate or touchdown. The cameras soon will be so small that they could be inside the QB helmet and have the same weight as a dime.

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Vasbyt
Posted on March 8, 2013 at 10:44pm
Rugby, no helmets, no pads, no *******. NFL has nothing on rugby. If only the rest of America would appreciate the beauty of this game. Check out South African Springboks or New Zealand All Blacks for some top quality rugby.

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- Ziplockhand
  Posted on March 9, 2013 at 12:13am
  Lekker ou maat!
  
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banjarmon
Posted on March 8, 2013 at 10:23pm
Real men play RUGBY…not the pansy NFL stuff !!

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