Irish Daily Star - Inside Sport
‘dropping tackle height can only improve game’
Rugb y’s tackle-height must be reduced to below the waist as a matter of urgency insists Frankie Sheahan.
High tackling, which can bring concussions, is dangerous and must be removed from the game at all levels from senior down to under-age.
“I would like to see the height of the tackle dropped down below the waist immediately,” says the former Ireland and Munster hooker.
“It’ll do two things, firstly it will reduce injuries and concussions and number two, it will allow off-loads in the tackle, breaking down defences easier making it a far more entertaining game.
“I’ve been saying that for a number of years now and I think that it should be, at minimum, started in the underage game.”
Sheahan does not buy into the idea big players would be unable to tackle smaller players and the game would be riddled with penalties.
“Anyone can tackle anyone by the ankles, you just have to get lower and tackle by the ankles.
“Even if you’re six -foot-eight you can still get down, anyone can get down, it is just working on your technique, it is the chop-tackle basically.
“There has been bigger changes to the game, to the scrums for instance, people would adapt fairly quickly.”
Gaps
The game would also open up: “A beauty of it would be all of a sudden the hands are free for the off-load and there would be gaps and excitement.
“We have seen defences dominating, being so good in recent times, it’s very hard to break them down so I think that’d be a huge plus for the game.”
Moreover, the hope is the game would be less affected by the stop-start pattern of penalties.
“Right now, these bloody penalties and sin-bindings and red cards for offences that are just kind of inadvertent a lot of the time is crazy and it spoiling matches.
“These rules are killing the game and via Ireland and Italy last Sunday, contributed to a poor weekend of rugby.
“Surely be to God, there is a way of doing these things that you can kind of sanction people after the game.
“Or, I believe, some of these hype red card offences if there’s no cynicism associated and, okay the law is broken but it looks accidental, and it mightn’t be malicious.
“I believe the referee should have a discretion to be able to say okay it is a yellow card or is there a middle ground, a 20 minute sin-bin or something.”