Red carded players to be sent back to tackling school - World Rugby
Players red carded for high tackles are set to be sent back to tackling school – according to a new protocol from World Rugby.
The sport is cracking down heavily on head contacts in a bid to lower the rate of concussions after a class action was taken against the sport in the UK. The changes which will come in at Test level with immediate effect will see players able to shave a week off a ban attending tackling lessons.
A statement reads: “World Rugby has furthered its commitment to reduce concussions in the sport with the launch of a technique coaching intervention for players who receive a red card for head contact.
“Designed to work in conjunction with the recently launched Head Contact Process (HCP) which has advanced rugby’s tough stance on head contact, the coaching intervention is aimed at amplifying awareness of the importance of technique and encouraging players and coaches to practice tackle technique that carries a statistically lower injury risk, reducing the number of red cards over time.”
The protocol will be operational for the July Tests.
“Operational for the July tests and initially running as a one-year pilot programme in elite competitions that operate the Head Injury Assessment (HIA) protocol, any player who has a citing or red card upheld by a disciplinary panel for contact with the head may apply for mitigation of their sanction for a coaching intervention which will analyse tackle/contact technique and identify and implement positive modifications to reduce the risk of injury. This intervention will be overseen by an independent expert coaching review group and will only be available on a one-off basis to players.
“A player participating in the coaching intervention will work with their coach to identify how technique contributed to the foul play.
“The coach and player will then provide video evidence of the interventions and modifications that they undertook. The coaching intervention will be assessed by an independent review group of expert coaches (see editors notes), who will work with the coach where necessary to ensure that the highlighted areas of technique have been addressed.”
World Rugby stipulate that the completion of a successful coaching intervention will reduce the player’s sanction by a week/match.
“We have made good progress and the increased frequency of red cards since the scope of the Head Contact Process (HCP) was widened has been a positive deterrent and awareness tool,” said World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin. “However, we must also focus on assisting the game with the promotion of best practice, and the ability to reduce a sanction by one week/match with a positive intervention to work on technique, is an incentive which we hope will lead to fewer repeat offences, fewer incidents, and a greater understanding of lower-risk behaviours.
“It will also challenge expert coaches to think about tackle technique and safety, and lessons learned from these cases can be applied to every player, creating a benefit for all players in the game.
“It is important to state that we are not saying that head contact is exclusively a player technique issue, as we will continue to work tirelessly to reduce the risk via law amendments and education, but good technique certainly contributes to reduced head injury risk, and we are encouraged that the players and coaches share this view. We look forward to seeing how this pilot study evolves.”
The process was designed by members of the Head Contact Process group, including coaches, players, referees and judicial personnel. It has been viewed as a positive step by players, who hope it will incentivise and assist players with the execution of safer tackle and contact behaviours.
The process reflects the sport’s multi-faceted approach to reducing head contact in the game. World Rugby is also currently considering which of the current package of welfare-driven law trials, along with additional breakdown focus areas, will be suitable and successful in a global trial environment, operating from 1 August.
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
27 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments