We mustn’t start trying to get players sent off
NICK VERDIER finds new Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones has fears over tackle law
For all the success it has brought, Alun-Wyn Jones reveals Wales have been forced to make tweaks to their blitz defence following the change of sanctions in the tackle area.
Put in place by defence coach Shaun Edwards in 2008, Wales have made a habit of putting the opposition under huge pressure by rushing off the line – but making a tackle at such pace can be hard to judge for the defenders and the risk of high tackles is far greater.
And with the new directives from World Rugby looking to eradicate dangerous tackles, the newly-appointed captain calls for the players’ ‘duty of care’ to kick in.
“Defensive lines have to be more controlled now,” he told
The Rugby Paper. “Gone are the days where you can have an out-of-control blitz or square defence because when a player uses his footwork to evade the defence you’re likely to have an arm tackle and you can land yourself in trouble.
“The clarification has come and we all know what we can, or can’t, do as player. It’s fine for World Rugby to want to make the game safer but now the responsibility falls on the players and referees.
“We know the rules and we have a duty of care for each other regardless if we’re in a different team. One thing’s certain, though, we have to also make sure we don’t turn into footballers, always appealing for yellow, red card or penalties because it would have a negative effect on the game.”
From an attacking perspective, acting head coach Howley is expecting to see Wales play with a lot more accuracy.
Howley said: “We’ve got Nigel Owens coming into camp to give us some feedback after World Rugby met and discussed that subject.
“It’ll take some time for the players to adapt and having a new referee every week will make it more challenging but hopefully the winner of Six Nations will not be determined by a red card.
“The choke-tackle was brought in to stop the offloading game of the opposition but obviously now it could end up being a yellow or red card depending on the decision making of the referee.
“The new rules benefit sides with an offloading game but also short sharp wingers who come back infield and ask questions of the defenders with their ability to run on the outside shoulder.
“Because the defence won’t be able to rush as much it’ll give more time on the ball for the attack which should improve decision making. Ultimately we should see more accuracy in the game.”
Jones has taken over the captaincy from Sam Warburton going into the tournament which could pave the way for Justin Tipuric to finally get his chance to start at openside.
The Ospreys flanker, who has won 27 of his 47 caps as a replacement, is yet to miss a tackle this season but Howley refuses to give his plans away ahead of their opener in Italy next week.
He said: “Justin impresses me every time he plays a game of rugby whether that’s in the wider channels or around the contact area.
“The selection will be tough across the back row with players like Justin, Sam, Ross Moriarty, Thomas Young, Taulupe Faletau and James King.
“There’ll be a lot of headaches for the coaches depending on the style of rugby we want to play. It started in New Zealand last summer and there were elements showed during the autumn.
“We’ve been competitive in the Six Nations but we haven’t won it for three years now so we’ll be looking to change that in the next eight weeks.”