Professor Dimitri Perrin is to join the Queensland Reds from QUT to delve deeper into how rugby’s maze of data can be unlocked by AI for gains on and off the field.
The data science expert will join the Reds for six months from January for an innovative project made possible by the Queensland Rugby Union’s collaboration with the leading university.
The Frenchman and the Reds coaching group are both excited about new approaches to analysing the game that will be applicable to the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.
“There’s a lot of data being produced in rugby and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by it,” Professor Perrin said.
“Just because you can measure something doesn’t mean it’s useful. The aim is to be very team specific and come up with solutions that are useful for the Reds.”
Professor Perrin, 42, offered examples around injury risk assessment, performance evaluation and kicking patterns.
“Just because a team kicked more and won a game doesn’t tell you much. What were the situations? Was it kicked 27 times by one player or five players? Was the ball kicked on your own terms or when under pressure?” Perrin explained.
“AI’s application to rugby is almost limitless. You can scale up and go a bit deeper into the analytics of games that have taken place or help prepare strategy for a new opponent.”
Two upcoming PhD students co-funded through the Next-Generation Graduates Program (NGGP) on Sports Data Science & AI will also be immersed at the Reds with Professor Perrin to work through real world applications of data.
Professor Mark Harvey, QUT Vice-President, Engagement, sees this as another example of the "positive, evolving relationship with the QRU which is all about a partnership working both ways."
"No code or team has someone of this scientific calibre spending such a specific period with them. Guys like Dimitri go on study leave to Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard so to have him apply his world-class expertise to an amazing live lab like rugby is exciting," Harvey said.
"We take seriously QUT's reputation as the university for the real world. In the really complex data of an elite professional sports team, Dimitri will be finding patterns and gaining knowledge to improve outcomes."
Professor Perrin can still watch rugby as a passionate supporter of Leinster (a result of many years spent in Ireland) or the Reds but he flicks a switch when it comes to looking at the game’s numbers.
“I separate the two. I enjoy the moment at a game but away from it you jump into the data to learn from it,” he said.
“This is a really exciting direction that has come out of the great relationship between QUT and the Reds. It will very much be a two-way interaction so we are addressing genuine needs.
“We could be looking into risk of injury or the cohesive factors for the team.”
Professor Perrin’s impressive background in health research highlights the work quality he will bring to the Reds when collaborating with the coaches, the Analytics team and Sam Cordingley, the Queensland Reds General Manager, Professional Rugby.
“Dimitri’s expertise as a significant cog with QUT as a Professor of Data Science is a level of experience we have never had until now,” Cordingley said.
“His ability to be able to look at all inputs of data be it sports science, GPS movements from the training field, list management information and so on will put us in the best place to make decisions.”
Cordingley credited the positive partnership with QUT for opening up this new opportunity.
QUT has been the Official Education Partner of the QRU since 2022. Work-integrated learning opportunities for QUT students have been ongoing at Ballymore in athletic performance, sports science, nutrition, analysis, media and communications, graphic design and commercial partnerships.
“Initially, we thought we’d be going down the path of athletic performance but we quickly established that the data science and IT area is a real opportunity,” Cordingley added.
“QUT is at the cutting edge in terms of applications for Artificial Intelligence and we will have one of the best intellects leading us down that path.
“It will be mutually beneficial.”
