The RFU Council have voted to adopt law changes in regards to lowering the tackle height in the community game (including National One and Two) which will come into force from July 1st.
The change in tackle height has been defined by the RFU as 'below the base of the sternum: The area of the tummy or belly and below.'
Following an RFU Council decision (in January) to lower the tackle height in community rugby to improve player safety by reducing the risk of head-on-head contact and concussion, the RFU has undertaken extensive consultation to listen to feedback on how to best define and implement the law variations.
The consultation heard a wide range of views and gathered thoughts and ideas from 8,500 people through an online open survey, the RFU also met with over 1000 people during 25 in-person and virtual forums across 13 locations and met 270 coaches, players, match officials, disciplinary officers, Club chairs and CBs, parents and teachers through 22 focus groups and online panels.
The open survey was independently analysed by the research company YouGov and this feedback was presented to the RFU Council.
The game wide consultation has informed:
The RFU Council is reviewing law application guidance which is being written based on the findings of the consultation. The guidance, which will be published in the coming weeks, will focus on helping players, coaches and match officials interpret and apply the law changes and other areas of law that will come under additional focus (e.g. actions of the ball carrier, sanctioning, clarification of open play when tackles occur etc).
A detailed plan of content and training materials for each specific rugby audience is planned by the RFU with guidance documents, training videos, quizzes and online and face-to-face training running from May throughout the summer and through into the next season.
A summary of the findings of the consultation includes:
Comment from RFU President Nigel Gillingham said: “I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this consultation and to say thank you in advance to the wider rugby family who will be vital to ensuring we implement this change successfully.
"We along with many other Unions across the world are lowering the tackle height to reduce the risk of concussion. We know change is challenging however, it is imperative that we are guided by the science to help make the game safer for our players. As part of our ongoing injury surveillance studies, we will monitor the impact of this law variation and would encourage as many clubs as possible to sign up to participate in CRISP by contributing their data it will enable us to continue to monitor and introduce injury prevention strategies.”
The law changes from 1 July are as follows:
Law 9 Foul Play
9.11.(a) Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others including leading with the head, shoulder, elbow or forearm, or jumping into, or over an opponent.
9.11.(b) Ball-carriers must not lower their height significantly before making contact with an opponent in open play
9.12. A player must not physically or verbally abuse anyone. Physical abuse includes, but is not limited to, biting, punching, contact with the eye or eye area, striking with any part of the arm, head, shoulder, forearm or knee(s), stamping, trampling, tripping or kicking.
9.13. A player must not tackle or attempt to tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent in open play above the base of the sternum even if the tackle starts below the base of the sternum.