Why was this decision made?
First of all, this decision was made to increase the safety of the players, especially at the amateur level. This decision will cover all leagues from National 1 (Third Rank of the competition) and below as well as the younger categories, starting with the 2023/2024 season that starts in England 1st of september. Professional rugby will be exempt from this measure. For quite a long time there has been talk about the safety of playing rugby, as a sport that is not only very contact, but a sport where there is a high intensity of blows during contact. This is exactly why the World Rugby Federation introduced that the height of contact is allowed up to the chest, we said up to the chest, in order to avoid that unfortunate definition of the exact line of the allowed tackle. On top of all this, a group of 55 players at amateur level have filed a claim against the England Rugby Union, the Welsh Rugby Union and the World Rugby Federation for negligence in the case of head and brain injuries.
This change is designed to reduce head impact exposure and concussion risk for both the ball carrier and tackler. Evidence from studies, among others the “ORCHID” study conducted in the southern hemisphere, which dealt with this research showed that there are more risky contacts when the heads of the ball carrier and the kicker are close, where strong and risky contacts occur during high tackles. It was concluded that reducing the grip height of the tackler, as well as encouraging the ball carrier to bend more at the waist, would minimize the risk of dangerous contact.
It was also recommended that ball carriers avoid contact, where they would be placed in an ideal position late, in order to avoid creating a situation where players would be exposed to an increased risk of direct contact and coalition with another player.
The professional level in rugby is exempt because they already have the obligation to provide the so-called HIA protocol at the stadium itself along with head imaging where it can be determined if there have been any injuries. When a player receives a blow to the head, he is required to leave the game immediately and complete the full HIA protocol along with recording. When it is determined that no injuries have occurred, the player may return to the game. This kind of system is impossible to implement at the level of amateur rugby because it is very expensive.
Why is this information important to us?
The English Rugby Union is the oldest rugby institution in the world which governs rugby in an extremely careful way. There are numerous committees that actively deal with all aspects of rugby and when they make a decision, it is a decision that has been analyzed by top experts in their niche. It is not the result of an individual whim, but a decision that went through several levels of research and debate, where all relevant facts were taken into account.
.
The World Rugby Federation is closely following all these developments, and our opinion is that it is very easy for this change to be implemented globally in the future. As we have already said, the decision regarding the bust down was very easily implemented, now the contact line would go down to the waist. It may happen that such a change is introduced on a global level and that it really concerns us as well. It is precisely for this reason that it is very important to prepare in advance and be aware that these changes may occur. Which is essentially the goal of this article.
How will this change affect rugby?
Our opinion is that it will have quite an impact on the way the game is played. First of all, we are thinking of bulky and large players who cannot always adhere to this rule. Let’s take the example of a second-line player who is two meters and 120 kilograms who needs to knock down a 170cm scrumhalf. He will have quite a bit of difficulty adjusting to the new rules. Again, the question is what will the team’s attack look like, because the strategy and game system will definitely have to be changed. The big question is what the mole will look like, how the fight for the ball in the ruck will be treated, where there is also significant contact.
However, we think the biggest change will be in the speed of the game. Where the game will speed up drastically. One of the strategies why the high tackle is used is to prevent the opponent from making an offload and passing the ball in contact. There is no other way to prevent it other than high tackle, or to politely ask your opponent not to throw an offload before the start of the game. Which means it will be mandatory for all players to offer offloads on contact, as interference will be prohibited. Then we come to the fact that we have different rules and also a different game in professional and amateur rugby, which is quite worrying.
It will be interesting to see how the pick and go style of play will be defended. How will you defend against such a game? It is very difficult or almost not at all if you hold firmly to these rules. In any case, they will follow the example of the English and the way they will solve such situations, so if it is done correctly globally, we will have something to learn from someone else’s experience.
All these things will be extremely challenging for the referees, who are faced with another security challenge that they have to control at the game. How such starts will be punished, whether cards will be handed out, how it will all look remains to be seen.
The English will certainly not leave anything to chance, they will thoroughly analyze and go through every aspect of this change. They will see to it that there is as little damage as possible for all their clubs and players.
How much attention is paid to such injuries in our country?
Attention is very much paid. The Rugby Union of Serbia has done quite a few things in the last few years to create the safest possible conditions for everyone to play rugby. Instructions were given to wear caps and gum in the younger categories. Doctors have completed the European Rugby Federation course and are trained to follow all protocols in case of head injuries. The Association of Doctors is quite active in terms of seminars, so they very often organize trainings and follow all the news and recommendations of the European and World Rugby Federation. After all, everyone has official certificates issued by official educators.
