Tackle height is coming down but RFU have work to do to repair ill-feeling – Andy Goode
The tackle height is coming down and the base of the sternum is an improvement but there’s a lot of ill-feeling around the way it’s been handled by the RFU and they’ve still got a lot of work to do.
After recommendations by World Rugby last month, we now understand the lowering of the tackle height in community rugby across England is part of an opt-in global trial but the original PR disaster from the RFU as they tried to make their move early has left a bitter taste.
If they’d just waited for the news to come from the global governing body first, there wouldn’t have been anywhere near as much of a backlash and why they felt the need to go further and mention “waist height or below” is beyond me.
I speak at amateur rugby clubs up and down the country regularly and you rarely hear a good word about the RFU and the way the game is being run but hopefully they realise the way they went about attempting to implement this without consultation was wrong and the work to try to rebuild the trust of clubs and players can begin now.
Participation numbers have already gone down since the pandemic and I completely understand why a lot of people said they were going to give up the sport because of the lowering of the tackle height so I think a significant amount of money and effort needs investing to ensure there aren’t too many players lost and that new people want to take up the sport.
I hope that the base of the sternum will prove to be a lot more palatable to amateur players than the waist, though, and part of the marketing and PR over the course of the next few months that goes along with this move is going to be that the sport will be even more exciting with more offloads and more tries.
It’s unfortunate because it’s probably the elite level that has created this issue for the amateur game around the catch tackle and the laws around the maul and players at the professional level, and then further down, have been coached to benefit from them.
I was told categorically that I wasn’t a good chop tackler so to hit high and aim at the ball with the aim of creating a maul and winning a turnover. That became my modus operandi in defence and a lot of other players were coached in a similar way.
Coaches are very dynamic and brilliant at finding a loophole or a way to give their side the edge but if those laws around the catch tackle and maul had been changed 15 years ago, then it might have made a big difference and I still feel you might naturally see a change in tackle height if they were altered now.
The powers that be want to get away from two-man tackles and the narrative will be around getting more enjoyment out of high-scoring games, upskilling players and focusing on the offload and the advantages you can get from that.
Players will have to make their own judgement on that but I really feel for referees in all this. Refereeing a rugby match is already one of the hardest jobs in sport and this is going to make their role even harder.
Whether it’s judging where the base of the sternum is or dealing with players who are struggling to adapt to the law variations or those who are disgruntled at having to do so, it’s going to be a thankless task and you can’t have a game of rugby without a referee.
Often referees don’t even have assistants at the amateur levels, it’s just a player or coach from each team running touch, and it’s going to be so tough for them to make some of these borderline calls around tackle height that we see officials get wrong at times in the professional game when they have a TMO and a host of camera angles at their disposal.
You just have to hope that the RFU has a plan in places and resources at the ready to support existing referees properly to make the transition to implementing these law variations and that they can still attract new people to give refereeing a go.
The RFU have approved the law variations but World Rugby are describing what they are recommending as an opt-in global trial, so the tackle height could always be raised if it’s found that there are too many head collisions from tacklers going low.
The waist was always far too radical and I think it would’ve potentially killed the game but there’s no doubt a lower tackle height is the way the game is going and the elite level will follow suit to a certain extent at some point too.
We just have to hope it doesn’t change the sport too much but it’s the way the RFU acted a few months ago more than the actual decision itself that created such a deep wound. This should have been the starting point but instead they’re now trying to stitch the wound up a bit.
World Rugby’s guidance last month stated that “national unions are now encouraged to consult with their community rugby game regarding the recommendation,” but the RFU had already dived in head first in January without any consultation.
That is where the problem arose, whether they did so because of the ongoing legal cases or because of other factors, and I think the governing body has a job on to earn back the faith of the players and clubs it represents across England. That hard work has to start now.
Comments on RugbyPass
No Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
3 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
18 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to comments