Good morning fellow G&GRs and welcome back for another year of hope, opinion and the ever-changing world of rugby, especially here in Australia. It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how things develop over the next year and where they end up. In addition, there’s going to be a huge disruption in the way the game is played here with the new tackle law that has been brought in. This is going to be a real challenge for RA as the “Old & Bold” bemoan the lowering of standards, wokeness and the referee killing the game.
The New Tackle Height Law
Here it is team. The new law that has been put in place to reduce the instances of head contact, and along with that the instances of concussion, and along with that a reduced chance of litigation down the road for RA. Now a couple of points with this. Firstly, it’s not a “new” law, it’s a modification of Law 9.13 which is about dangerous tackles. The second thing is that it is a law so the referee isn’t going to have a lot of discretion about applying it, and I think that until the coaches and players get their heads around this there’ll be a lot more penalties.
Now I know there are a lot of opinions around this decision and especially from people who say going low just transfers the problem from the person being tackled to the tackler. In some ways they are correct and from what I have heard from my mates in NZ, the implementation of the law has required big changes to the coaching of players. No more mungo coaches who can only teach run in fast and wrap up ball and all to prevent an off load because that’s all they know. They’ve found that defence coaches actually need to learn and understand the game so that they can provide a defensive pattern that works. They’ve also found that the coaches have required to conduct a lot more tackle training so that players learn the art of tackling again. This is where I think the rule carries a big risk here. I’m not sure that we have the rugby IQ in our coaches to coach the players to the correct level and we may see injuries from the tackler going low and doing it wrong. I hope that this isn’t true, but it is an area of concern.
The other thing with this law, the tackle law talks about tackles not being above the sternum, but what it actually means is that tackles can’t occur above the lowest part of the sternum or it’s a penalty. The head contact protocols that have been in place for a number of years remain without change. This is a big change, though, and we know it’ll take players, coaches and officials time to absorb it all and make the necessary changes. At the training we saw a number of videos showing tackles that were legal in 2023 but not legal in 2024. I tried to upload one, but it was too big for this site unfortunately. I’ve since watched numerous videos explaining the law and essentially if the first tackler goes in without bending and aiming at the belly or lower, he/she will be penalised. In addition, if the 2nd tackler comes in and hits high driving the player to the ground they will also be penalised. Now if either tackler comes in with a passive hold to grab the player and hold them up, then that’s ok. From what I’ve seen it will be hard for the 1st tackler to do this but relatively easy for the 2nd one. The law also stops players from ducking into a tackle. Of course they can absolutely brace for a hit; however, if a ball carrier bends over and leads with their head then they’ll be penalised. So, it’s not just a mitigation issue, now they’ll also be penalised.
The education also covers the pick and go, which is always an issue. The general consensus is if the sternum isn’t visible due to the tackler, and they don’t make head contact then we’ll let play continue. This includes pick and goes in all areas of the field, not just the red zone attacking the line for a try. This is a big change, and we think it will take 6 to 8 weeks for the players, coaches and officials to get this, so it’s a normal part of the game. We’ll try and work through the issues with the teams we are officiating, and there will absolutely be no consistency in this as we are all learning. However, the results from the studies done in France, NZ and elsewhere where this has been in play for some time show that there’s a marked decrease in head contact and concussions. They also note that the game has become more enjoyable both for the players and spectators as it has opened it back up again and they are seeing more running and less stop/start to the game.
For me, I think this is a great move and I just hope that the naysayers who respond from a position of ignorance and false beliefs give this a go. I’m sure we referees will have to cop even more abuse from the ignorant; luckily, I’m half deaf and can’t hear them anyway, but I’m hoping that for the most part sensible and smart people will back this change.
Super Rugby Pacific introduces offside law variations
Reported here in Rugby.Com Super rugby has introduced new off side law changes to help prevent that arsehole of a situation where both teams kick and the remaining players remain in the middle waiting for someone to run and not kick. The current law allows players who are more than 10m from the receiver to remain still until they are put on side by either the kicker or a player behind the kicker running forward, or the receiver taking more than five steps or passing the ball. We all saw this in the weekend, and it certainly doesn’t make for good viewing.
Super Rugby has changed the laws by removing the last two criteria so they can only be put on side by either the kicker or another player behind the kicker running past them. This means that where the player catches the ball, they can run directly forward, and the opposition will not be able to tackle them until they are onside. The idea behind this is to give the attacking team more space and provide a better running game.
“We want to create a game that’s exciting for our fans and enjoyable for our players,” Super Rugby Pacific Chair Kevin Malloy said. “Part of that is seeing our players running the ball rather than trading multiple kicks in a battle for territory. We’re listening to our fans and with the full support of New Zealand Rugby, Rugby Australia, and our coaches we’ve responded with a small change we think could make a big difference.” World Rugby has given their support to this move, and personally, I think it’ll be good for the game. Now, if they can just get rid of the dreaded caterpillar, or even better, let the 9s who take the ball out and look up before playing it be targeted as they legally can be. Never anything wrong in tackling a gobby 9.
Rugby Australia considers first afternoon Bledisloe Cup Test in Sydney since 1995
Reported here in RugbyPass, RA are looking at bringing the Bledisloe test match in Sydney forward to a more family friendly time. Australia will host their Trans-Tasman rivals at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on 22 September before travelling across the ditch for a potentially historic test a week later at Wellington’s Sky Stadium. While the international season is still months away, Australian rugby fans may have something to get excited about as RA weighs up having the Bledisloe Cup Test in the afternoon.
“The narrative I have been trying to push is the connection between the professional game and the community, and I think with the more family-friendly test matches and professional games so that families and young kids can attend, and the more we open it up to more people, the better it is going to be,” said, Phil Waugh, CEO of RA. “It is certainly something we are exploring, and we are just working through with our partners to make sure it can work.” Of course, this will mean that it could potentially clash with both school and subbies rugby, however what’s more likely is that we’ll all get a week off so we can go to the game.
The current schedule for the Wallabies is
July Test matches
Australia v Wales at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on 6 July
Australia v Wales at Melbourne’s AAMI Park on 13 July
Australia v Georgia at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on 20 July
Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup
Australia v South Africa at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on 10 August
Australia v South Africa at Perth’s Optus Stadium on 17 August
Argentina v Australia at TBD on 31 August
Argentina v Australia at TBD on 7 September
Australia v New Zealand at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on 21 September
New Zealand v Australia at Wellington’s Sky Stadium on 28 September
