Extended Computation Method of Optimal Kick-pass Plays while Considering Kickers' Run Plays in Rugby Sevens

In the last decade, it has become increasingly crucial to show explanatory information on rules, plays, tactics, and game situations when broadcasting and streaming invasion team sports, such as soccer, basketball, and rugby. This is particularly true for unknowledgeable viewers. Based on this, we have introduced a simulation-and-optimization-based computation method for rugby sevens, which can produce optimal kick-pass plays using players' locations and velocities as explanatory information. Although the kickers often run before their kick-pass plays in actual rugby sevens games, run plays of kickers have not been considered in our computation method because of an offside rule for the kick-pass plays. To address this issue using our computation method, we extend players' reachable areas and a kick-pass play optimization problem, both of which play essential roles in the computation method. Based on these extensions, the computation method can consider the kickers' run plays. The computation method extended using these extensions is also tested using hypothetical examples of players' locations.