It is always interesting to learn people’s views about what makes rugby union different from other sports, such as rugby league and football in all its various forms – soccer, Gaelic, American and Australian Rules.
I have had many a conversation with practitioners of other sports and all claim their version is the best. In my time I have played footie, Gaelic football, rugby league and American football, and I’m sorry, but they can’t compare to rugby union.
So what are the core elements of our sport? And what gives it a unique selling point, to use the marketing phrase?
Obviously, these core elements include 15-a-side playing for 80 minutes; running with the ball in hand and no forward passing; scoring tries to gain a conversion attempt; kicking drop and penalty goals over the bar; scrums and line-outs; rucks and mauls; and some other daft laws that complicate a simple game. Oh, and tackling.
Tackling is such a huge and vital part of rugby that we unquestionably accept it as part of the game. Good tackles can win matches, poor ones can lose them, yet I’ll bet most players and former players reading this column will have had little training – sometimes none – in how to tackle properly.
That is all going to have to change across Scottish rugby following the SRU’s decision to introduce a trial period starting next season for a new tackle height at every level of the sport below the two full-time professional clubs and the FOSROC Super Six level.
This is a direct consequence of the growing scandal of players and former players suffering brain damage of different kinds from head tackles and clashes. The authorities had to act, and the SRU are one of the first to do so.
For the avoidance of doubt, here is a list of everyone affected by the new law: all levels of the male and female, adult and youth community rugby, up to and including the men’s and women’s Premiership; all levels of youth representative rugby, including Player Development Hubs, Regional Academy and Regional Age Grade; all alternative formats including sevens and 10s. In other words, a lot more than 90 per cent of people playing rugby in Scotland.
The new maximum upper tackle height is a line round the body at the sternum. There is one difficulty I can already foresee – not everyone knows what a sternum is or where it is located. That’s why I like the adoption of the term “belly tackle” to encourage players to know where they can legally tackle each other.
The change to the tackle height will not please everybody, and I can imagine plenty of big, tall, second- row players worrying about how they will get down to properly tackle a diminutive scrum-half.
You might also ask why is the community amateur game being targeted for the change and the professionals are not – although I think it’s inevitable that they will be.
Still, for safety reasons, I think everyone in Scottish Rugby should buy into this project, and I have to commend the SRU – especially the Club Rugby Board led by Keith Wallace – for they way they have initiated and developed the concept which was effectively given the go-ahead by World Rugby when they issued this statement early last month: “World Rugby’s Executive Board has recommended that Unions participate in an opt-in global trial of lowering the tackle height in the community game to below the sternum (also known as a “belly tackle”).
“National unions are now encouraged to consult with their community rugby game regarding the recommendation. Any future adoption of a lowered tackle height will be underpinned by a comprehensive road map of education and resources that will support implementation locally at all grassroots levels of the game. Unions will also be encouraged to undertake formal research into the impact of the intervention, enabling World Rugby to fully evaluate the trial and determine future steps.
“The announcement follows extensive analysis and consultation with unions over the last six months and reflects the international federation’s core mission of a global sport for all, seeking to enhance the experience for players in order to keep building engagement across the globe.”
The clinching factor for World Rugby was research in France and South Africa which showed that 74 per cent of all concussions come from the tackle area and that approximately 70 per cent of concussions at the tackle area relate to the tackler. When you learn that a tackle above the sternum is 4.3 times more likely to result in a head injury you can see why World Rugby has moved to encourage the “belly tackle”.
My biggest concern is how do we change behaviours in a short space of time? The SRU are laying on a series of roadshows across the country and there is plenty of advice on the Union’s website, but will that change how people play?
Not every club has sufficient tackle bags for players to learn the correct way to tackle opponents, so perhaps the National Lottery could help with this aspect of what will be a worthwhile though difficult transformation.
