With the 2019 Rugby World Cup happening in Japan, over 9,500KM away, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) wanted to ensure all Ireland fans could still experience every moment of World Cup action from the Men in Green. We needed to create a campaign that allowed Ireland fans to follow the Men in Green throughout the competition, even if they couldn’t follow them over to Japan.

Before every game Ireland players and supporters stand united to sing “shoulder to shoulder we’ll answer Ireland’s Call”. And this was exactly what we needed to do, we needed to stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with all Ireland rugby fans to ensure everyone felt part of the team.

Knowing that the majority of fans would be watching from home, we decided to use technology to help create a truly life-changing experience.

Nearly 5% of the Irish population suffer from colour vision deficiency, with the majority classified as ‘Green Weak’. In order to stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with all our fans, we needed to ensure that they couldn’t just follow the competition, but they could follow what was happening on the pitch. Rather than just help colour blind fans experience the Men in Green at the Rugby World Cup, we helped them see the Men in Green for the very first time.

Using Daltonisation Colour Technology we created ‘See Green’ – a Google Chrome Extension designed to help colour blind rugby fans follow all the action during the match. Using technology to turn a once in a lifetime event into a first in a lifetime experience.

The Ireland rugby team is famous for its supporters. Wherever they play, an army of green supporters follows. However, there was an audience of Irish fans who had struggled to follow the Men in Green all their lives – the colour blind community. Over 250,000 Irish fans are colour-blind, with ‘Green-Weak’ being the most common diagnosis. This meant that some of the most passionate Irish fans struggled to follow the team, because they couldn’t follow the match.

As inclusivity is central to the Irish Rugby Football Union and the team stands ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with all its fans, we wanted to help this audience experience the Rugby World Cup like all the other fans.

By targeting a small audience, we knew we could help a nation of fans.

See Green went live the week prior to Ireland’s first match. To launch the new initiative, we told the story of one life-long Ireland fan who had never seen green. Bobby Blakeney has been an avid rugby supporter for 74 years, and suffers from severe colour-blindness, meaning he is unable to distinguish accurately between green and red. The film showed an emotional Bobby, who has supported Ireland his whole life, using See Green to see the famous green jersey for the first time.

The technology was made available to download for free throughout all of the Irish Rugby Football Union’s social media channels. A campaign website housed the See Green technology, as well as a series of ‘historic Irish rugby moments’ that could now be seen by everyone.

Additionally, ‘See Green’ was made available globally, meaning that opposition fans could use it to see their team too.

For colour blind Irish fans it was the first time that they were properly able to follow their team and the flow of the game.

5.5 million media impressions from 1 social post & zero media spend.

7.1 million visits to the Irish rugby website during campaign.

“Literally a game-changing idea. This incredibly clever extension ensures the enjoyment of a seemingly simple pleasure is accessible to many more people” - Ant Hill - Head of Creative Impact UK - Google

We are currently working with the national broadcaster to develop See Green technology for streaming platforms nationwide.