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RFU's tackle height change is extraordinarily naive - Andy Goode

By Andy Goode
Twickenham Stadium /Press Association

The RFU’s move to lower the tackle height across the community game is a PR disaster and has the potential to be catastrophic for the sport.

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The Council may have unanimously voted the change in but I haven’t heard from any players that it will affect who have been consulted on the matter and it has been extremely poorly communicated.

There’s no doubt it will end the careers of a lot of amateur players, who simply can’t adjust to what the law variations require of them, and I think it’ll have a devastating effect on participation figures.

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Rugby is struggling in England as it is and clubs up and down the country have struggled to get players back in the aftermath of the pandemic so this news is likely to provide another blow to them.

I’ve got mates that play at local rugby clubs who are genuinely saying they aren’t going to play the game any more in response to this news and I don’t think that’s just hot air, I really think this is so radical that it could kill the sport.

RFU flag generic stock image
(Photo by Alex Davidson – RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Of course, player safety is paramount and the sport has been attempting to make positive changes in recent years but this is an alteration that would fundamentally alter the game that we all love. It would be a completely different sport.

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I could understand if the tackle height was lowered to nipple level but making it waist height or below is such a drastic change that it’s hard to see how people are supposed to adjust and I don’t know how you’ll be able to defend certain situations any more.

The fact that this is being brought in at National One and below but not in the Premiership and Championship is a huge problem as well. Rugby has enough problems without making itself a completely different sport at the elite level to the amateur level.

There were understandable complaints that the England team were completely disconnected from fans under Eddie Jones and now they’re going to be playing a different game to the supporters who are watching them.

Regardless of what sport you’re talking about, it’s vital that people young and old can watch their heroes playing the same game they do.

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On top of that, how on earth is a team supposed to get promoted from National One and then adjust to playing a completely different way in the league above or how is a promising young player supposed to learn his trade at a top club and then go out on loan and play the game according to such drastically different laws?

Spare a thought for referees too. It’s hard to see why anyone would want to become a referee in the professional or amateur game as it is but I’m sure this will make their job harder.

Barnes referee criticism
(Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)

We know there are lawsuits going on in the background and it’s fair to ask whether this move by the RFU is a reactive one because of the pressure they are coming under.

However, it is the way this seismic change has been communicated that is most shocking. You can’t just put a press release out and expect everyone to just crack on with things and if the RFU is going to provide clarity and detailed guidelines soon, why can’t they do that now.

If you’re going to implement such a significant change, the least you can do is be armed with all of the relevant information for people at the time of the announcement and have a clear strategy for getting the important points across and attempting to get everyone on board.

That doesn’t seem to be the case at all and, as a result, the move looks like a knee-jerk reaction even if it has been years in the planning.

The RFU’s press release says the decision is “based on extensive research and evaluations of law changes” but it doesn’t detail any of the findings or provide links to any reports.

The only concrete statistic it states is that there was a 63 per cent reduction in head-on-head contacts when a similar alteration happened in France in 2019 but there were a number of differences between that and what the RFU is planning to do.

Plus, a host of current players have voiced concerns about a potential rise in incidents caused by knee-on-head contacts, for example, so a governing body should be providing figures to reassure them that they aren’t going to increase.

I know a number of different studies have been carried out in various countries and competitions across the world but we need to know which ones the RFU is basing their decision on, see the evidence and the sample sizes and hear from them about the reasoning behind it.

RFU

To think that that they can just make a decision like this that affects so many people, seemingly without consulting them, and not get a backlash is extraordinarily naïve.

The RFU isn’t known for having a joined-up approach to things but surely anyone with any sort of experience in PR or communications could have told them that this wasn’t going to go down well if they handled it like this.

Over 40,000 people have already signed a petition against the move and the opposition to it isn’t just going to go away.

This is going to rumble on and the RFU would be wise to call an emergency council meeting and enlist the help of a PR company to communicate more effectively before telling the thousands of players up and down the country that this affects that they have listened.

That would be a start and then perhaps all stakeholders could be involved in a transparent process of working out how we make the game we love safer, whilst not altering it so radically that it alienates a large number of people and causes participation to fall further.

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Jon 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

28 Go to comments
A
Adrian 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

28 Go to comments
T
Trevor 11 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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