Lower tackles, safer rugby: New laws confirmed
by KickOff Rugby · KickOffCommunity and amateur rugby players around the world will compete under stricter tackle-height laws from July 1, after World Rugby ratified a permanent reduction following two years of extensive trials.
The World Rugby Council made the decision official in Dublin, giving unions the option to set their legal tackle height at either the waist or the base of the sternum. It's a change specifically designed to reduce the frequency of upright tackles, which carry the highest risk of avoidable head contact.
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The evidence base behind the decision is substantial. Trials conducted across 10 unions produced a dataset of more than 150,000 tackles, and the results consistently showed that lower tackle-height laws reduced the kind of high, upright contact that puts players' heads at risk. The new laws apply to seasons beginning after July 1.
World Rugby chairman Brett Robinson said the decision reflects the sport's ongoing commitment to player welfare at all levels.
"Player welfare is at the heart of everything that rugby does. I welcome the adoption of a lower tackle height into community law," Robinson said.
"The trials from around the world show that this is the right thing to do to make our game safer and more enjoyable for community players who are the lifeblood of our sport."
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The tackle-height change is not the only significant law adjustment coming into effect. World Rugby has also permanently adopted the scrum brake-foot law, introduced restrictions on water carriers entering the field of play, formally recognised the television match official as an official member of the officiating team, and confirmed that elite competitions may continue to use 20-minute red cards at their discretion.
The governing body is not stopping at the community game either. Lower tackle-height trials will extend into elite rugby later this month, with the World Rugby U20 Championship in Georgia serving as the first testing ground at that level.