Rugby World Cup 2025: The luminous mouthguard, a connected gadget to prevent concussions

The best female rugby players on the planet will compete in England from August 22 to September 7 during the World Cup. And for the occasion, all of them will be equipped with a new gadget: the connected mouthguard, an object made of flashing red LEDs and designed to light up in the event of a significant impact to the head . The rule is simple: if the light goes off, the referee must stop play so that the player can be immediately examined by a doctor. This is a way for World Rugby to prevent this now-familiar problem in rugby and many other contact sports: concussions.

The international rugby body had already introduced Bluetooth-connected mouthguards, these without lights, during the WXV women's international tournament in 2023. They were rolled out worldwide the following year, notably during