World Rugby wades into tackle height debate with new recommendations
World Rugby has waded into the debate over tackle height by asking national unions to trial “belly tackles” at grass roots level in a bid to make the sport safer.
England’s Rugby Football Union provoked a fierce backlash earlier this year when it announced plans to ban tackling above the waist in the community game next season.
And now the sport’s global governing body has revealed its own recommendation that tackle height at the non-elite level of the game be below the sternum in the centre of the chest, also known as “belly tackles”.
The move is designed to reduce concussions caused by head-on-head contact between a tackler and the ball-carrier.
“The clear mounting evidence is that doing nothing is simply not an option,” said World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin.
“Specifically in the community game, head-on-head contact is something we need to reduce. We have to view these proposals as an opportunity to grow the sport at community level in tandem with reducing player risk.”
The World Rugby Council will not meet to consider this proposal for approval until May but World Rugby has made its announcement to enable unions to engage in full consultation ahead of their new seasons.
The trials will be optional but the majority of unions are understood to be seriously considering World Rugby’s recommendation.
A lowered tackle height trial in the elite game could follow and World Rugby has not ruled out changing the laws of the game to that effect.
The RFU was forced to row back on its plans which are now set to be subject to further consultation, but trials of waist-high tackles in amateur rugby in France were found to reduce head-on-head contact by 63 per cent.