To ensure the security and privacy of match data, Rugby Game Tracker operates on a secure Multi-Tenant architecture. This means coaches from different rugby clubs can use the same application, but their data is mathematically isolated in separate "filing drawers" using Row Level Security (RLS).
Registration & Mandatory Account Fields: Click the Register tab on the login screen to create a new account. All registration fields are strictly mandatory, including your Display Name, Contact Phone Number, Club Selection, Position at the Club, Reason for Applying, Email Address, and Password.
Mandatory Club Role & Reason for Applying: Every new applicant must specify their role or position at their club (e.g. Head Coach, Match Analyst, Team Manager, Referee, Committee Member) and explain why they are requesting access to RugbyGameTracker. These details are reviewed by administrators before granting club access.
The Waiting Room: After registering, your club selection and application details are securely submitted to a "waiting room" in the database. You will be placed on an Awaiting Approval screen until a Global Admin verifies and approves your request.
Administrator Approval: A Global Admin will review your account on the Admin Screen, viewing your display name, contact phone number, email, requested club, position at the club, and reason for applying. Once they click "Approve", the database officially grants you access to that club's secure filing drawer.
Profile Settings & Primary Club: At any point after approval, you can access the Profile screen from the top navigation menu to update your personal details (Display Name, Phone Number) and seamlessly switch or create a new Primary Club to change your working environment.
Data Privacy & Filing Drawers
Once approved, you are securely locked into your club's filing drawer. This guarantees complete data isolation:
Isolated Records: You will only ever see teams, matches, and players that belong to your specific club. If another club creates a match across the country, it is completely invisible to you.
Collaboration: If multiple coaches from your club sign up and are approved for your club, you will all share the same filing drawer! Any match or player added by one coach is instantly available to all other coaches in your club.
Opposition Teams: When you add an opposition team (e.g., Exeter Chiefs) to log a match against them, that opposition team record is securely stored in your filing drawer, ensuring your logos and team spellings don't interfere with other clubs.
Getting Started
Welcome to the Rugby Game Tracker! This application allows you to seamlessly log match events, track player sin-bins, maintain an active game timer, and visualize statistics dynamically.
Start Blank Match: Quickly start an ad-hoc match session without needing premeditated teams from the database.
Load a Match: Choose pre-configured matches from your saved database for a full roster experience.
Instant Play (No Squad Setup Required): If you haven't selected or loaded a squad in advance, you can still proceed with the match immediately! The tracker automatically pre-assigns standard rugby position numbers (#1 Loosehead Prop, #2 Hooker, #3 Tighthead Prop, ... up to #15 Fullback and replacements #16-#18+), allowing you to log all match events by number (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) without delay.
Account Indicator & Profile: Your logged-in account email address is prominently displayed in the top header. Click Profile in the navigation menu to manage your account and Primary Club.
Pre-Match Setup & Squad Size Workflow
To ensure a smooth tracking experience on match day, follow this best-practice sequence of events (optional for detailed squad tracking):
1. Manage Teams, Matches & Master Player Database:
Teams Manager: Features a streamlined 1-column layout with collapsible sections for adding new teams and viewing saved clubs. Click ✎ (Edit) to update team names or club logos.
Matches Manager: Configure KO Date, KO Time, Home vs Away team selections, and filter saved fixtures with the Filter by Season dropdown (e.g. 2026/27, 2025/26). The full-height Saved Matches list features count badges and quick Load, Edit, and Status Toggle (Mark Completed / Reopen) buttons.
Master Player Database: Maintain your master player repository using a clean 1-column layout with collapsible panels. Use the compact Upload CSV File button and 📥 Sample CSV tool (`Name, Club, Player_Sponsor` format), assign optional Player Sponsors, or filter players by club using Filter by Club. Duplicate checks match on Name + Club automatically. Click ✎ (Edit) on any player to open the Edit Player modal, which features a Club dropdown (with an on-the-fly ➕ Add New Club... option) and an editable Player Sponsor field.
2. Create the Playing Squad: Head to 'Players' (Database) to securely add individual squad members and link them to their respective team.
3. Configure Squad Size: On the 'Roster' tab, use the Squad Size controls to match your matchday squad size (defaults to 18):
Use the tactile - and + stepper buttons or type a number directly into the Squad Size box.
Click quick preset buttons (18, 20, 22, or 23) to switch squad limits with a single click.
Your configured squad size automatically extends or contracts the roster line items and updates all match event player dropdowns dynamically. Your preference is remembered across sessions.
4. Allocate the Roster & Matchday Lineups:
Match-Scoped Team Sheets: Match rosters are uniquely tied and saved to each individual fixture. Editing player slots, Captain (C) or Vice-Captain (VC) roles, or sponsors for an upcoming or active match applies strictly to that fixture — ensuring historical matchday lineups and other upcoming fixtures are completely protected and never overwritten.
Default Squad Templates & Auto-Seeding: Each club team also maintains an ongoing Default Squad Template. When you create or load a match, the tracker automatically seeds the roster from your team's default template so you never have to re-enter starting players and jersey numbers from scratch.
Save as Team Default (💾): Finalized a strong team sheet for the weekend and want to make it your team's new ongoing default lineup? Tap the 💾 (Save Template) button located in the column header next to the team name. Future matches created for this team will automatically adopt this new squad lineup as their starting point.
Safe Match Clears (🗑️): The 🗑️ (Clear Roster) button safely resets the roster back to default position numbers only for the active match. It will never delete your team's master squad template or affect other fixtures.
Slot-Specific Sponsors: Click ✎ (Edit) on any slot to assign a player from the master database or type a custom name. You can also assign or edit a Player Sponsor for that specific slot, which displays with a 🤝 badge in the team sheet, event prompts, and exported summaries.
Mobile, Tablet & Laptop Navigation
The Rugby Game Tracker is optimized for all screen sizes, including laptop displays and smartphones in Portrait and Landscape orientations (e.g., iPhone 16):
Responsive Collapsible Views: On all devices, management tools (Teams, Matches, Database) utilize a unified 1-column layout with collapsible sections, ensuring maximum screen real estate is preserved for scrolling lists and input forms.
High-Visibility Circular Close Button: Management modals feature a prominent circular × close button with a minimum 44px tap target area (conforming to Apple iOS HIG guidelines) and safe-area inset protection so it is never clipped by mobile browser URL bars, camera cutouts, or Dynamic Islands.
Outside Tap to Dismiss: You can also tap anywhere on the dark backdrop overlay outside a modal window to dismiss it instantly.
Smooth Touch Scrolling: All fixture lists, roster lines, and master player tables feature native iOS momentum touch scrolling and high-visibility custom scrollbars.
Security & Privacy
Your data is protected by strict Row Level Security (RLS), stored-XSS HTML escaping, and automatic offline write resilience:
Data Protection: You will only see content (players, matches, rosters) created in your account, while global RFU teams are accessible out-of-the-box.
Input Sanitization: All team names, player names, and event comments are automatically sanitized and HTML-escaped to prevent cross-site scripting vulnerabilities.
Write Resilience: If network connectivity drops during match logging, changes are safely queued locally and synchronized automatically once reconnected.
Match Management & Clock
Use the settings row at the top of the tracker to configure the match variables precisely.
Format & Age Group Dropdown: Select match durations using the sleek Format / Age Group dropdown — featuring RFU youth presets from U7/8 (10m), U9/10 (15m), U11/12 (20m), U13/14 (25m), U15 (30m), U16 / Colts (35m), Seniors (40m), or select Friendly for pre-season matches with customizable sessions (e.g., 3 x 25m or 4 x 20m sessions).
Timer Controls: Start, pause, and reset the match clock right from the central control hub.
End Period / Half: When the session timer depletes to zero (or when ended manually), click to transition seamlessly into the next period (Session 2, Session 3, etc.) until Full Time.
Recording Match Events
Use the interactive scoreboard interface to administer points and discipline:
Scoring: Click Try (5), Conv (2), Pen (3), Drop (3), or Pen Try (7) to allocate points and instantly update the match timeline.
Player Assignments: For try events, penalties, and cards, prompt windows will let you select squad members by name (complete with their 🤝 Sponsor badge) or assign events directly using default player numbers (#1, #2, #3, #4, etc.) if no custom squad has been loaded.
Discipline: Use standard Yellow/Red Card tracking. Players awarded a Yellow Card will automatically spawn a 10-minute Sin Bin countdown timer on the user interface.
Substitutions: Document tactical or injury substitutions swiftly to maintain an accurate team topology on the pitch.
Retroactive Event Ledger
The application persists a robust chronological ledger of all actions under Match Events.
Forgot an event? Click the round + button located above the event list to embed an action strictly from the past. The system will auto-sort the timeline and re-calculate all subsequent running scores flawlessly.
Corrections & Editing: Click ✎ (Edit) on any event item to adjust its scorer, points, timestamp, or substitution details. Any flawed entry can be purged by clicking the × (Delete) button associated with the timeline item.
Maximise / Minimise Events Section: Click the ⤢ Maximise button at the top-right of the Match Events panel to expand the events list into a full-screen, focused inspection overlay. This is ideal during rapid substitutions, sin-bin tracking, or post-match event audits. Click ⤡ Minimise or press the Esc key to return to standard size.
Reviewing Completed Matches
When a match status is set to Completed, the main match tracker switches to a clean read-only mode:
Read-Only Mode: Active timer controls, scoring buttons, and match setup menus are hidden to prevent accidental edits while viewing historic match results.
Preserved Historical Lineups: Completed fixtures permanently retain the exact matchday roster played on the day, allowing coaches to look back at past rounds and review exact starting lineups, substitutions, sponsors, and captaincies.
Expanded Events View (Desktop/PC): On PC and large desktop displays, the Match Events list automatically stretches to fill the bottom of the screen, providing maximum visibility for reviewing every match event, try scorer, and disciplinary action without wasted screen space.
Sharing the Results
Whether broadcasting half-time scores or full-time summaries, your efforts shouldn't stay local:
Native Mobile Sharing & Social Graphic: Click 📷 Share to Socials near the events ledger. On mobile devices, this opens your native OS Share Sheet (WhatsApp, X/Twitter, Messages, Instagram, Mail) with a custom social graphic featuring the match header, current score, line-level running score badges, and the last 6 match events (including substitutions, yellow/red cards, and scores). On desktop computers, it automatically downloads a high-resolution PNG graphic.
Physical & PDF Export: Leverage the Print function from the navigation menu to output a clean, multi-page PDF record of the game:
Page 1 (Match Result & Scorer Summary): Features the official match header, scoreboard with final score, period breakdown (adapted to match format, reporting Half 1 / Half 2 or multi-session Session 1 / Session 2 / Session 3... scores), total tries, and individual scorers.
Page 2 (Match Day Rosters): Features a dedicated team roster sheet displaying both Home and Away teams in full shirt order number (Starting XV #1–#15 and Replacements #16+), showing assigned player names, Captain (C) / Vice-Captain (VC) badges, standard rugby positions, and player sponsors.
Page 3+ (Chronological Events Ledger): Outputs the full chronological timeline of match events from kick-off to full time with running score badges and clock stamps.