Tackle height changes have positive impact in Varsity Cup trials

SA Rugby have given a big thumbs up to the players, coaches and referees of the recently completed Varsity Cup competition which saw fewer penalties dished out for high tackles.

This follows the implementation of new tackle height laws which were trialled during the competition, which was won by the Shimlas from the University of the Free State on Monday.

According to SA Rugby, who introduced the new laws at club and community rugby level this year, there has been a difference in the number of penalties awarded and potentially concussions picked up by the players.

SA Rugby introduced the new measures last year, lowering the maximum legal height at which a tackle may be made while also outlawing potentially dangerous ball-carrying actions and techniques.

Number of penalties decreased

The Varsity Cup was the first prominent competition in South Africa to use these laws and according to detailed averaged match data, the number of penalties for high tackles decreased from 14.5 per round to only 7.5 towards the end of the league phase of the competition.

Furthermore, ball carriers were more aware of dipping their heads lower than their hips with penalties in this area declining from three in the opening round to zero during the past two rounds.

“As our Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus said, ‘tackling lower is coachable’ and we’d like to thank and congratulate all coaches and players who have actively worked hard on correct, safe, and effective tackle technique,” said Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby.

“In the same breath, I would also like to thank all the match officials for enforcing the changes. Projects such as these don’t come without teething problems and although we are aware of issues in some provinces, these are by far in the minority.

“All involved in the Varsity Cup have shown what can be achieved with a positive approach. Apart from fewer penalties for high tackles, and without having properly interrogated all the data yet, preliminary observations are that there appears to be fewer concussions in this year’s tournament, which is exactly what we were hoping to achieve.”

‘Work in progress’

Oberholzer further reiterated SA Rugby’s commitment to ensuring a safer game at amateur level.

“We didn’t take the decision to implement these law variations lightly and months of very hard work went into the project,” he said.

“The community rugby season is in full swing, and we would yet again like to urge referees to apply these new laws as per the tackle-height framework, while coaches and players must make the effort to familiarise themselves with these new laws and coach and play accordingly.

“This is work in progress, and we are learning as the season progresses. If all the involved parties come together and do what they can to make it a success, we will see even more positive results in the coming months, as these new laws gain momentum.

“We would like to see referees continuing to penalise tacklers that are in upright body positions. Ball carriers leading into contact with their bodies horizontal and heads lower than hips make it impossible for tacklers to tackle low and is penalisable.

“Finally, zero tolerance must be applied to tacklers diving at the limbs of ball carriers with leading shoulders and no clear wrapping of the arms. All these must be penalised with the applicable card depending on the level of danger.”