Performance Analysis Key to Success for Suntory Sungoliath Rugby Learn how these five-time champions of Japan use technology to streamline their performance analysis process to improve player and team performance, both in training and at matches.
Suntory Sungoliath are a giant of professional rugby in
“If you get a good analyst, they can make my job as the head
Japan, with a long history of success in the Japanese
coach, but also other coaches’ jobs, so easy because of the
Top League.
detail that he can extract when he’s coding,” said Haig. “And because he’s looking at our footage all the time, he can see
Suntory head coach Milton Haig has more than 20 years of
things that sometimes we don’t pick up. We’re lucky to have
international coaching experience, including stints with New
a world-class analyst with us.”
Zealand Maori and Counties Manukau in his home country, and as head coach of an emerging Georgian national team
Jun Sudo is the head analyst for Suntory and uses Hudl
at two World Cups, all before linking up with his current team
Sportscode to code training sessions and matches, providing
in Japan.
feedback to both the coaching and playing team. The speed of Hudl Sportscode and integration with other products, such
He has a simple but clear goal for his current side: “Perform
as Hudl, streamlines a job that’s very technical in nature.
well and end up winning the championship.” The head coach is also adamant that the way they analyze their performances
“I live code all training sessions and games for our club, and
is crucial to their chances to succeed.
what you upload on Hudl.com for review is completely in sync with the files you create on Sportscode, so you have
“In terms of how statistics and video analysis help us, it’s
a seamless workflow,” said Sudo. “Now, the new version of
crucial—it’s a vital part of our operation,” said Haig. “Analysis
Sportscode lets you upload the timeline itself, and then lets
is a vital part of whether we will be successful or not, and how
coaches download the materials quicker, which allows us to
we interpret the information, how we gather the information,
share information much faster than before.”
and then how we translate that information to performance on the field are all key components.”
As a former professional player and now widely experienced coach, Haig has a strong grasp on the kind of information
Suntory uses video analysis throughout their weekly routine,
that’s advantageous in high-performance environments.
from daily training sessions through the live analysis on
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September July 2021 2021
match day. This means that the role of the analyst is now
“Analysis is a foundation component to any kind of
extremely important in the modern era of professional rugby.
professional organization for rugby or sport in general,” said
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