Dragons den for Rugby ideas (Whats yours?)

Ladies and gentlemen, from diet, to injury diagnostics, individual tracking systems monitoring a players power output and top speeds during a game, rugby has moved in to the technological age. With one exception.

The scrum seems to be pretty much as it was 20 years ago i.e Get a former front row fat lad to get 8 guys together and tell them how he wants them to shove. There is some individual technical coaching of course as all 8 players have a different job to do but essentially oral communication is dated and out of sync with the modern world.

Twenty five years ago Ivan Drago’s coaches were able to measure to the kilojoule the amount of energy he put into each punch. In 2013 I want to develop a scrum machine which can measure the power created in the scrum. Its uses will be many fold. Finding the best starting position for the locks, the best driving position for flankers e.g. in at an angle to “lock” the props in or driving straight so that all 8 are driving as one. Does the tighthead widening his stance by half an inch increase or decrease the power output? That kind of thing.

All outputs will be logged and tracked using a sophisticated algorithm and the machine will recommend a starting pack for each game depending on the previous week’s MIS.

I am asking for €1,000,000 for a 10% stake in my company ScrumCognitiveRelationshipOutputTrackingUserMeter or SCROTUM for short. In addition to this equity you will have the privilege of designing, marketing, building and distributing the machine (I am an ideas man not a grafter). It will have a recommended retail price of €5,000,000 per unit with mandatory quarterly software upgrades, a licensing fee, an obligatory servicing contract with official SCROTUM engineers and each unit must be replaced at least every two years (for safety reasons).

Are there any questions?

Em....haven't zee French already invented your invention a good few years ago?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PUhYxHzcFY

I'm out.

Your presentation lacks visual aids.

I am also out.

I may be prepared to increase the equity to 20%.

Alternatively I am working on a lineout involving the lifted player, lifting another player for a three tier effect. There are some downsides, the top floor player will obviously have to be very tall and extremely skinny so can only be brought on ad hoc for lineouts. This means another player will have to be punched in the face and temporarily replaced with our towering blood sub. The only other drawback is that hookers will have to learn to kick the ball in from out of touch as it would be too great a distance to throw.
Like the choke tackle, other teams will adopt the ploy but the first team to put it in to practice will obviously win all of their games before they are sussed.
Possibly not as ambitious as my first effort but I'm fairly confident the French haven't thought of it yet.

That last one sounds promising. But we'll still need diagrams...

http://drawsave.com/1yw

I also had an idea to gather all the finger tips from the fingerless golves which were all the rage a few years ago. They will have little rubber strips glued on and marketed as passing aids , like adidas predator boots for your fingers.

I know it will only be a fad like the fingerless gloves themselves or the sticky nostril openers that used to be in vogue but I think I can make a killing with the more fashion concious player.

Once they are stablished, I will attempt to have them become mandatory appareil in games as any eye gouging will be easily identified as there will be an option to incorporate a micro camera into each one.

A possible downside is the close up view of nether regions being scratched but my research shows there may be a niche market in specialist DVD's for that as well

Front row boots to reduce the number of collapsed scrums due to props losing their footing.
http://drawsave.com/20m

"A high tech device that can be placed onto heads that protects the hair"

This is similar to the existing scrum cap, but is constructed from Unicorn hair in a secret formula to allow better hair / air transfer (patent pending)

It does not have any protection incorporated, so will just be used for backs.

It will of course be targeted a nancy backs who currently wear scrum caps - so a mass market

Options to bejazzle it and 'pimp their cap' will mean continued revenue

They will also be an option to use camelion milk to allow it the adapt to how orange said back is - so no horrible clashes

Well to make money you have to be able to sell to the masses.

SO I have redeveloped vaseline, it is packaged under a new name, "No Grip, Super Slip"

It has two uses, one to grease your arms and legs to protect against grass burns, and it makes you as slippery as an eel (depending on much you use ofcourse)

There is only one draw back, handling the ball becomes rather difficult, but if you have a strong forward pack, and a great tactical kicker, you will always be competitive.

I will sell 100% of my company for 1 Million Pounds Sterling.

Good thinking guys. Risky have you fully costed your idea? How much does unicorn hair sell for on the commodoties market? Also does it come with 3 magic wishes? Please include a diagram using the link
http://drawsave.com/1yx
Biltong... i think Declan Kidney stole your idea, travelled back in time and invented Munster.

I've actually for a while now wanted to start up an american football style combine testing facility, doesn't just have to be for rugby, it can be used for numerous sports.

All the research is done, all the equipment costed up, facilities found, and ready for design and structure, I am missing one thing...

Funding!

Anyone have 500k they want to sink into it?

Imagine the WRU actually think outside the box for a moment, Acedemy systems produce get turned into a draft system, players no longer play for regions, but prem clubs, every prem club has an academy system in place (12 over Wales) more elite gametime for the players, more players receive the higher level coaching, conditioning, education, the number of quality players produced rises, the number of over looked players reduces, then at the age of 18 (after school and college) players earn a draft place contract at a region, a 2 year contract with help with uni, housing etc...

There is a huge buzz of excitement on Draft day, not to mention scouting day where scouts for all the regions/prem clubs sit in a stadium stand (something like Newport County's) and watch the players undergo the most intnense and scientific tests of the modern era

Regions keep on an even keel (least succesfull region gets first pick etc) they get a rotation of players each, they get better rounded squads, and all this for minimal costs...

Bluesman, I'd love to see something like that come in. I've long been an advocate for a system where the prem clubs are the starting point for all of the pros, and then the best from them get to represent the region. Now the only time the players turn out for clubs is when they're getting back from injury. A draft would be great, and the poorest teams getting first pick would help to distribute the talent well. My only concern would be the number of top coaches at the clubs. You'd need 12 top quality coaches to bring on the talent, and if the best players are sent to the worst performing team then it's likely that they're stuck with the worst coaches (logically speaking). We don't seem to have enough top coaches for 4 regions let alone 12 prem teams (if they're meant to be coaching pro level players in this new structure).

Anyway, good idea. A few tweaks (and some funding!) and it would get my vote!

Griff wrote:Bluesman, I'd love to see something like that come in. I've long been an advocate for a system where the prem clubs are the starting point for all of the pros, and then the best from them get to represent the region. Now the only time the players turn out for clubs is when they're getting back from injury. A draft would be great, and the poorest teams getting first pick would help to distribute the talent well. My only concern would be the number of top coaches at the clubs. You'd need 12 top quality coaches to bring on the talent, and if the best players are sent to the worst performing team then it's likely that they're stuck with the worst coaches (logically speaking). We don't seem to have enough top coaches for 4 regions let alone 12 prem teams (if they're meant to be coaching pro level players in this new structure).

Anyway, good idea. A few tweaks (and some funding!) and it would get my vote!

I see your point, but thats the beauty, the WRU could centrally contract the coaching teams, give 12 coaches a basic skillset and ongoing CPD for them to progress, the best coaches will naturally graduate to bigger clubs, regions etc and the next batch would come through.

I don't think our problem right now is that we don't have enough coaches, it's that the wrong coaches are given shots by their mates, former employees etc... Look at a lot of our best options at present and they have been backed and gambled upon by a mate, Howley only got the backs job by his mate squeezing him in, then was handed a star studded backline who came through the academy near together in James, Roberts, 1/2p etc... Howley had no coaching experience whatsoever, and there were probably a dozen welsh backs coaches who couldve done an infinately better job!!!