Red cards prove we must bring back ruck

HEAD high ‘hits’ in the pro game are not going away any time soon if Friday night’s narrow Bath win over Gloucester is any measure.

An early Val Rapava-Ruskin carry ended in the Gloucester loosehead being dismissed for a forearm strike to Josh Bayliss, and later Bath lock Mike Williams was red-carded for a shoulder to the head of Gloucester full-back Kyle Moyle.

After years of pro players being coached in the imported Rugby League chest-high hit, and a permissive approach by match officials, going high has become entrenched – with many finding it difficult to tackle lower.

Meanwhile, the legal action launched by Jamie Cudmore, the former Clermont Auvergne and Canada lock, against Clermont for allowing him to continue playing when concussed, is due to go to court in France.

This could finally force the World Rugby laws committee to outlaw the static pile-ups that have caused damage to players, and to the image of the game, ever since it made the ruinous decision to ban the old-style ruck. Those rucks were contested by players who had to bind-on before entering the contest for possession, and, crucially, were rewarded if they got forward momentum either by quick loose ball – or a scrum put-in.

The current pile-ups have resulted in players taking run-ups from five to 20 metres as they charge into breakdowns to clear-out static players, often making contact with their heads, or even breaking bones.

Bakkies Botha’s illegal hit on Adam Jones in the 2009 Lions tour was a classic case. Yet, more than a decade later nothing has changed, as highlighted in the Six Nations by the red cards for head high charges shown to Peter O’Mahony and Zander Fagerson.

The solution could not be clearer. Bring Back The Ruck.