Outside the bubble
Despite England players operating under covid restrictions during the Guinness Six Nations, Ellis Genge, Jack Nowell and Henry Slade managed to help run a Bristol primary school’s rugby PE session.
Thanks to O2’s 5G mobile network they were projected as 4k holograms into the school hall at Bristol’s Summerhill Academy, amazing a group of schoolchildren with a world first virtual rugby PE lesson.
Unable to meet fans in person, ahead of England’s game with Ireland at Twickenham, using Portl, a high-spec device that uses hologram technology to project users in 4k resolution, the England trio gate-crashed a standard PE lesson.
The primary school has had limited exposure to rugby, so the players took the boys and girls, aged between seven and 11, through a variety of introductory training drills concluding with a touch rugby match.
All the pupils involved were given England shirts to wear during the training session and at the end of the PE lesson they were able to speak to the players and pose for photos with them in their hologram form.
Ellis Genge, said: “Having been born and brought up in Bristol and not had the access to rugby that many have at a younger age, I hope that the virtual rugby PE lesson can have a lasting impact on the kids to want to play more rugby in the future.
Gareth Griffiths, Director, Partnerships and Sponsorship at Virgin Media O2, said: “We’ve been able to showcase an innovative solution to bring together England rugby players with a lucky group of schoolchildren in a way that, to date, has been unimageable. Through our partnership with England Rugby, we have exciting plans to continue to provide fans even more unforgettable experiences, thanks to our connectivity.”
Chris Barratt, Headteacher at Summerhill Academy, added: “It’s not every day that your students get to interact with some of the best rugby players in the world. To see this happening at our school is something we are very proud of and we hope that this technology can be used to coach even more children in the future.’’
To find out more about O2’s 5G network and their work with the RFU, follow @O2 on Twitter.
