Now upright defenders face ban of their own
DEFENDERS who persistently stand upright when making a tackle face being banned under World Rugby’s campaign to minimise contact with the head.
The three-week ban imposed last week on the Scotland outside-half Finn Russell for a fend off on Brice Dulin which caught the France full-back on the throat and earned a red card highlighted the problem facing a ball-carrier when confronted with an opponent who does not crouch before making a tackle.
Had Russell run straight at Dulin without lifting his left arm, the Frenchman would have been sent off had he made any contact with the outside-half ’s head. The anomaly was highlighted on Friday evening when London Irish had a player sent off and another shown a yellow card during their European Challenge Cup victory over Cardiff Blues.
Prop Will GoodrickClark was dismissed after an upright challenge on Dillon Lewis was met with a slightly dipped head rather than a fend and minutes later wing Ben Loader was given ten minutes off for a hand-off on Tomos Williams who had stood tall in the challenge.
Under current disciplinary rules, the technique of the tackler is not a mitigating factor, but World Rugby is looking to change that. It has been trialling a system in France which sees defenders who go high into a tackle warned and told to address the deficiencies in training and it is considering rolling it out.
Three warnings would lead to a disciplinary hearing and a potential onematch suspension. The issue will be discussed at World Rugby’s council meeting in May along with a proposal to offer players who have been found guilty of a dangerous tackle a week off their suspension if they take part in a tackle awareness session in training and send a video of it as evidence.
The move comes after a spate of red cards at international and club level this year. Five players were sent off in Six Nations matches, one fewer than in the first 19 years of the tournament, and 12 have been dismissed in the Premiership since Christmas, the same number as in the whole of last season.
Russell’s ban last week generated criticism from pundits and fans, although under the current rules the disciplinary panel was unable to cite Dulin’s suspect technique as a mitigating factor, while there is concern that in France match officials are not presented with enough camera angles before coming to a decision.