World Rugby statement: Community rugby lower tackle height trials
World Rugby council has unanimously approved a recommendation that unions participate in trials of a lower tackle height in community rugby. The opt-in trial, which gives unions the freedom to adapt within their own jurisdiction, aims to improve player safety by reducing the risk of head-on-head contact and therefore concussions.
A statement read: “The international federation’s council ratified the executive board’s recommendation from March to follow the evidence and lower the permitted tackle height in the community game to below the base of the sternum – the area of the stomach, belly or below – statistically the safest place to make a tackle for both tackler and ball carrier.
“Following World Rugby executive board’s initial recommendations in March, unions including England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Italy and South Africa are set to join the trials alongside France and New Zealand where similar trials were already taking place. Many more are undertaking consultation.
“World Rugby endorsed trials in France and South Africa has shown that lowering the tackle height reduces the number of head-on-head contacts and concussions. Lowering the tackle height has also shown positive outcomes regarding increased ball-in-play time and offloading. The changes have also helped to increase player participation in France.
“The new law trial will allow unions to:
- Set a legal tackle height at the base of the sternum, or below as best suits their community game;
- Set secondary laws governing associated areas of the game such as pick and go, double tacklers and ball carriers dipping into contact.
“World Rugby has pledged to support players and unions with coach and player education tools as well as ensuring that trials are properly assessed and monitored. The trials will be given significant time for players to adapt and for substantial, quality data to be gathered from around the world. The results of the trial will be formally reviewed in early 2025.
“Following enquiries from members, World Rugby would support closed trials at the elite level should a union or competition wish to run such a trial.”
World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said: “I would like to thank everybody who has contributed to this process and thank in advance the rugby family, who will be vital to the successful implementation.
“Change is challenging. We anticipate that the trial will take time to settle. However, throughout this process we have been guided by the science to help make the game safer for our players and the evidence is unequivocal.
“We will work with our unions to commission and collate feedback as we advance through the two-year trial. This bank of data will enable us to closely monitor its impact.”
Mark Harrington, the World Rugby chief player welfare and rugby services officer, added: “This is the next step on a journey which first began with World Rugby investing in world-leading research into player welfare at all levels of the game.
“World Rugby will continue to support unions throughout the next two years in educating players, collecting data and analysing research so that our decision-making continues to be informed by the best possible evidence.”
- As part of its own consultation process World Rugby held a Q&A session which can be watched back here. World Rugby’s free training modules Rugby Ready, Tackle Ready and Breakdown Ready are also available to support both players and coaches with the new law trials as well as technique more generally.
Comments on RugbyPass
late 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
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 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.
24 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.
24 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?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments