Getting close to the action

By MICHAEL OTTO

If any dirty deeds occur in the murky depths of rucks and mauls at the World Cup, Alister Byron will be one of the first to notice.

The former-Wellingtonian is founder and managing director of Sydney-based Sports Recording Services (SRS).

The company produces videos of each cup game for teams and judicial panels so he sees things that ordinary viewers don't.

"When the spectator ran on to the field in the Samoa, South Africa game, we could see him coming down out of the stand with our high end-on camera," Mr Byron said.

Television viewers only got to see the shot from the sideline behind the South African goalkicker.

This sort of information is useful for reviewing security at major sporting events, he said.

SRS started producing sports videos after being approached by the New South Wales Rugby League to help sort out their judicial video system in the early 1980s.

They now record big games in major codes - rugby on both sides of the Tasman, the NRL and the Australian National Soccer League. Covering all the world cup games was a new challenge.

"To a degree it's one of our biggest challenges. It's the equivalent of having to tool up to do an entire season in six weeks. We have 28 people working on it across Australia."

SRS had to design their own specialist systems to suit International Rugby Board video requirements for the cup - for example, burning in "not for broadcast" on each copy made.

Mr Byron left Wellington in the 1950s and settled in Australia in 1959.

By the late-1970s, he was running the largest privately owned production house in Australia - Image Concepts - making TV commercials and corporate videos. Most of the company was sold in 1989, but he kept the sports recording arm.

SRS keeps master copies of all games recorded.

"We have an immense library going back 30 years covering many different codes," said Mr Byron. He estimated that up to 10,000 match-videos were stored there.

SRS also supplied an improved sideline communication system to the All Blacks after they experienced interference problems when using another company's product in early RWC pool matches, said Mr Byron.

The SRS system was first used by the All Blacks when they played Wales last week.

It featured lightweight headsets which fed signals into two base stations at the stadium and permitted eight people to converse during matches, he said.

The system would typically be used by coaches in the stands and sideline personnel.

When injured players were taken to doctors' rooms under the grandstand, coaches could still communicate with team medical staff despite the concrete structure.

As to the cup winner, France was Mr Byron's early tip.

"I'm a great believer in the bookies.

"They had the French at 10-1 so I stuck $50 on that," he said.

He still liked his chances of a collect as the semi-finals approached.

Full World Cup coverage