Armpit tackle height trial already under fire
Former Scottish lock Jim Hamilton has taken aim at World Rugby’s latest attempt to make the game safer, claiming their latest tackle height trial will only cause more head knocks.
World Rugby approved a lowered tackle height trial for England’s secondtier Championship Cup competition the coming season, which will feature the legal tackle height lowered to below the armpits, rather than the shoulder line.
The trial was announced after the latest English rugby injury audit revealed concussion in domestic professional rugby had risen for a
5. Do the Waratahs have a hope against the Lions?
Of course. If their deadly backline vipers Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau can get their hands on the ball on the counterattack, whether it be from loose kicks or off turnovers, they can seventh consecutive year.
But Hamilton, who played 63 tests for Scotland between 2006-2015, believes concussion rates will only get worse under the new laws, because defenders will put their head in the firing line by going lower.
Hamilton’s tweet fuelled a healthy debate online, with people both agreeing and disagreeing with his claim.
The trial is the latest move to increase the safety of the game as competitions across the world, including Super Rugby, continue to be littered with head knocks, despite World Rugby
take a chainsaw to even the most committed tackle line. In Beale and Folau, coach Daryl Gibson has two aces right there.
The Lions have shown a genuine willingness to attack. They are much more than just a team that waddles introducing tougher sanctions for high tackles at the beginning of 2017.
Initially there were plans to trial the stricter laws over the entire Championship season.
However, the clubs didn’t approve the move, meaning the Rugby Football Union will have to assess whether or not the laws makes a difference by analysing 43 cup matches.
World Rugby has already kicked off a similar trial, which saw the legal tackle height at the recent under-20 World Cup moved from the line of the shoulders to below the nipple line.
from set piece to set piece, waiting for first five-eighth Elton Jantjies to kick them into position.
The Lions have beaten 27 defenders per game, more than any other team in the competition. Proof they are well capable of breaking the line.