A ban on tackling above the waist is to be trialled in a radical attempt to make rugby union a safer sport. World Rugby is looking at ways to reduce the risk of head injuries to both the tackler and the tackled player and has approved a closed trial at domestic level to monitor the effects of drastically reducing the height of a legal tackle.
The game’s governing body has yet to confirm full details of the trial but it is understood it will occur at community level in France initially. Three players died in French rugby last season and the latest experimental laws originated from a welfare symposium held in Paris this year. The tackle is responsible for 50% of all match injuries and 76% of all concussions.
If the trial proves successful and is extended throughout the game it would transform the shape of the sport at all levels. It could be approved for global trials within the next World Cup cycle and be made permanent law in time for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. “World Rugby is unwavering in its commitment to ensure rugby is as simple and safe to play as possible for all,” the World Rugby chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont, said. “While injury incidence in the sport is not increasing and concussion incidence is decreasing, we can and must do more to reduce injuries at all levels. This is an important milestone on that journey.”
The move is one of several initiatives announced by World Rugby, which will also be examining a range of other potentially significant areas, including a reduction in the permitted number of eight replacements. A specialist working group is also to be formed to assess “all issues” regarding the ruck and breakdown, the subject of increasing concern.
Australia’s National Rugby Championship is also due to experiment with a goal-line drop-out in the event of the attacking team being held up over the line, which would significantly reduce the appeal of the close-range “pick-and go”. Permission has also been given to trial the experimental 50:22 kicking law which gives an attacking throw‑in to a side able to bounce a ball into touch in the opposition 22 from inside their own half. The idea is to force more defenders to cover back rather than join the crowded defensive line, potentially creating more space for attackers. John Jeffrey, chairman of the laws’ review group, confirmed that, in addition to player welfare, there were “also clear benefits to improving the spectacle for player, match officials and fans”.
For current England tight forwards such as Dan Cole, however, the more immediate priority is the new scrummaging law which, for safety reasons, now forbids front-row players from placing their heads on the shoulders of opponents between the calls of “bind” and “set”. England and Wales will meet at Twickenham on Sunday with both teams slightly unsure how things will pan out. “It will be our first hit at it and Wales’s first so we will see,” said England’s prop. “You want the scrum to be seen in the best light possible. You don’t want it to became a negative point where it is just a mess and everyone goes: ‘Get rid of the scrum.’”
Both teams are due to announce their starting lineups on Friday for the opening warm-up Test of the Quilter summer series, with England preparing to confirm their final 31-man World Cup squad on Monday. “It’s the pinnacle of our careers and will potentially be some of the best weeks of our lives,” the lock Joe Launchbury said. “You want to do all you can to be a part of it.”
