England Rugby uses Apple hardware to analyze games. Image credit: Apple.
Apple’s latest video advert outlines why the iPad and MacBook Pro are essential tools for England Rugby’s performance analysis team.
Time and time again, the iPhone has proven itself as a useful tool for sporting events, with Major League Soccer already using the device to record matches.
Even the Maracana stadium will use an iPhone-powered offside camera system in 2026. Still, the iPhone isn’t the only Apple hardware that continues to be used in sports.
In a new video ad released on Monday, Apple highlighted how England Rugby uses its products. The ad, titled “Apple at Play”, was made available via the Apple UK YouTube channel and features England rugby team chief analyst Joe Lewis.
iPad, MacBook Pro and Apple Studio Display are used to view matches in real time from seven different angles. This allows England Rugby to capture a huge amount of data points related to a player’s movement, including how many tackles a player has made or missed, among other things.
“Within the box we have two analysts, five coaches, seven video angles, hundreds and thousands of data points,” explains Lewis. “All seven laptops are connected. That’s why the coaches can see on their laptop what we’re cutting.”
England Rugby’s analysts use Apple hardware to record possessions, line-outs, scrums and so on for each game. iPads are then used to draw players’ attention to certain things. During half-time breaks, players are shown key clips that offer them a new sense of perspective.
“As a player, it’s so important because you get a feel for the game, but you don’t quite get a bird’s eye view of it,” said flyhalf George Ford.
Apple’s latest ad is likely part of a larger push for sports-related content. The company has already made Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball available to Apple TV subscribers in the United States at no additional cost. The same goes for Formula 1 racing
There’s also a special Apple Sports app along with the “F1” movie and talk of a possible sequel, all of which show Apple’s commitment to sports fans.