Rugby Australia won’t ban above-waist tackles as Wallabies star Drew Mitchell brands move ‘dramatic’
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Rugby Australia (RA) will not follow their English counterparts in banning tackles above the waist, a move Wallabies legend Drew Mitchell called “a bit dramatic”.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU), which governs rugby union in England, recently announced the most drastic change to the game in recent memory.
Beginning July 1, amateur players of all ages must tackle an opposing player from the waist or below in an effort to reduce the number of serious head injuries.
Chest tackles will be illegal at National One and below in men’s play and Championship One and below in women’s rugby, but Australia will not do the same.
Wallabies legend Drew Mitchell has applauded Rugby Australia for not following the lead of their England counterparts, who recently banned tackles above the waist.
“Naturally we are the beneficiaries of a great deal of research carried out by World Rugby and we work with them and other national unions to maximize player welfare at all levels,” an RA spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Our key focus for 2023 remains correct tackling technique, which is critical to player safety, and we will continue to drive this priority with all coaches in 2023.
‘Specific discussion on the implementation of this measure [waist and below tackles] have not taken place,’ the spokesman said.
Taniela Tupou looks to stop Springbok Francois Steyn with an arm around his chest and neck area. A tackle like this would be banned in amateur English rugby
It was a decision applauded by Wallabies legend Drew Mitchell, who is currently one of the most respected commentary figures in the game.
The 71-Test veteran said that while he realized head injury and concussion are an understandable approach to the game, something like this drastic ‘waist and lower tackling’ decision was almost like stealing Peter for pay Paul.
Mitchell pointed out, as other union legends have, that forcing people to tackle lower also puts heads in more vulnerable positions.
Drew Mitchell (left) with fellow rugby commentators Alana Ferguson and Justin Harrison. Mitchell said officials need to be very careful when making changes to address the laws.
“I think it’s a bit dramatic. Nipple height was introduced a few years ago and was quickly discarded. I understand what they’re trying to do… but I think this is misplaced and going too far,’ Mitchell’s scathing response reached the Herald.
“It would involve Rugby Australia sitting back and watching from afar.
There also has to be ongoing effects. If you can’t tackle anyone above the waist and every attacking player has a free hand during every run… while we’re trying to eliminate one thing, we’re opening up another,” Mitchell said.
England’s Joe Cakanasiga (centre) is tackled by several Argentinian players in the chest area
USA star Will Hooley is caught with a high shot to the head at the Rugby World Cup in 2019. The RFU’s new directive aims to prevent head injuries from tackles like this.
England legend Andy Farrell, one of the toughest players to ever play, agreed.
At the launch of the Six Nations, which begins on February 5, Ireland’s current manager said the new law could present a “serious problem”.
“I think it’s very important that what has to come with [the new laws] it’s the right training, the right technique,’ Farrell told reporters.
‘If you ever tell a child that ‘you have to board lower’ then you make yourself even more vulnerable. If you’re just sitting there with your arms out in front, trying to wrap up, head down, etc., you’re an easy target. It’s an accident waiting to happen.
Ireland manager and former England star Andy Farrell (left, pictured with skipper Johnny Sexton at the Six Nations launch) believes the RFU made the wrong decision in lowering tackle height
Farrell’s Irish captain, star midfielder Johnny Sexton, would know a thing or two about head injuries.
The 109 Test, 91kg Leinster superstar has suffered several concussions in his long career, but he doesn’t think tackling from the waist and below is the answer.
‘I do not agree with that. There’s really no point in sitting on the fence, is there? I just think you have tall people playing the game. It should be their decision how they approach,” Sexton said at the launch.
“Of course we need to take headshots out of the game, but the tackles we really need to eliminate are the reckless, out-of-control, running off the line, reaching into their arms, all those kinds of things.”
Hitting someone chest high should be an option. It’s not that you can’t shock yourself by cutting someone’s knees.
“I’ve seen a lot of concussions from people who have their head on the wrong side, a knee to the temple or a hip even on the side of their head. So, I totally disagree,” Sexton said.
Irish fly half Johnny Sexton, pictured receiving attention after a big hit against Wales in 2021, is also staunchly against the idea of reducing tackling.
It would seem that many, even in the northern hemisphere, are of exactly the same opinion as Rugby Australia, who have not even contemplated the ‘waist and below’ rule.
But former hooker Brian Moore, who came to England in 64 Tests, implored the current generation of players to give it a try, given the plight of concussion sufferers.
‘How about we stop portending disaster and try to make this work? It will require time, patience, and probably revisions before it works as demonstrated,” he wrote in the London Telegraph.
To the players, I say that it is their health and their career that is at stake. For your own sake and that of your colleagues, please accept this.
He and the RFU face an uphill battle to get them to do it.