A seismic shift is coming to the world of rugby: the tackle height is about to get a major makeover! World Rugby is set to implement a lower tackle height in the elite game, starting with next summer's Under-20 World Championship in Georgia. This decision follows encouraging results from trials in the amateur game, where a lower tackle height led to fewer upright collisions.
The new rule will see the legal tackle height drop from the shoulder line to the sternum. The goal? To drastically reduce the number of head collisions by encouraging players to tackle lower.
But here's where it gets controversial... Ball-carriers will face penalties if they dip into contact to evade tackles, preventing defenders from making legal tackles. However, the rule won't apply to pick-and-go plays near the breakdown or when a player dives for the try line. In these instances, the shoulder line will still be the standard. Additionally, secondary tacklers will be allowed to come in and try to rip the ball or form a maul.
Referees will be making these calls on the field, in real-time, rather than relying on constant video reviews. This move aims to keep the game flowing.
The sternum tackle line is already being rolled out worldwide at the community level (third tier and below in England) starting July 1st. Its implementation in the U20 World Championship could pave the way for its adoption in senior competitions down the line.
Precedents in Junior Game: The U20 World Championship has often served as a testing ground for new rules. For instance, playing on from line-outs that aren't perfectly straight (as long as they're uncontested) has been tested there before being more widely adopted. Conversely, the ability to call a mark from a restart was trialed but not implemented further.
Senior figures at World Rugby view this tournament as an ideal environment. It allows some of the world's most promising players to adapt to new rules without having to switch between different competitions with varying tackle heights.
Mark Harrington, World Rugby’s chief player welfare and rugby services operator, has emphasized that various metrics, including concussion rates, will be closely monitored before any further decisions are made.
“One of the challenges for elite professional rugby is that the guys and girls are playing in a vast number of competitions,” Harrington explained. “The acid test, and the reason why we are doing it, is that we have seen some good progress in the community game. At the same time, for different reasons and with different levers, there have been some improvements in the elite game.
“What we don’t know is whether you marry up a daily training environment with the blunt instrument of a lower tackle height, does it give you even better results? This will be the first time we can look at that. There will be thorough investigation afterwards and, if the will of those stakeholder groups is that we pursue it further in the elite game, we will absolutely do so.”
Tackle-height trials have already been conducted in 11 countries, including Australia, Argentina, England, Ireland, Italy, Japan, France, Scotland, South Africa, New Zealand, and Wales.
Some, but not all, of these trials have shown an increase in pace and offloading. World Rugby will be keeping a close eye on these trends during the U20 World Championship trial as well.
What do you think? Will this new tackle height improve player safety without sacrificing the excitement of the game? Are you concerned about potential disruptions to gameplay? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
