Springbok coach involved in World Rugby tackle law shake-up

NEWS: Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones has played a key role in shaping World Rugby’s crackdown on hip-drop and knee-drop tackles, with the new measures coming after growing concerns over dangerous techniques that have already caused serious lower-limb injuries.

The dangers were starkly illustrated at this year’s U20 World Championship, where Australian fullback Treyvon Pritchard suffered a fractured fibula and syndesmosis injury following a hip-drop-like tackle against Wales.

It was the second similar injury suffered by an Australian player during the tournament, after Chayse Geros was injured against Spain.

Jones was part of the specialist tackle height working group established after February’s Shape of the Game meeting, alongside United Rugby Championship match official boss Tappe Henning and leading coaches, players and medical experts from around the world.

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The World Rugby Executive Board approved the law amendment and a Law Application Guideline confirming that both techniques will be penalised, with the changes aimed at improving player welfare and creating greater consistency in officiating.

A knee-drop tackle isn’t necessarily a new offence. World Rugby is reinforcing existing laws: a player who goes to ground before attempting the tackle is considered a player on the ground and cannot tackle.

The “hip drop” tackle – where a tackler uses their bodyweight to pull a ball carrier down and drops onto their legs from behind – will explicitly be added to Law 9.13 and carry at least a penalty.

The “knee drop” tackle, meanwhile, is already covered by existing laws prohibiting a player from making a tackle while on the ground. A new Law Application Guideline will reinforce that interpretation from October 5, while the hip-drop law amendment comes into effect on November 1.

World Rugby has been running extensive research into lowering tackle height. In June 2026, it approved a lower legal tackle height in community rugby, allowing unions to choose waist or base-of-sternum height, following trials involving more than 150,000 tackles.

That work is part of the same broader player-welfare programme that led to the tackle-height working group investigating hip-drop and knee-drop tackles.

World Rugby said its working group analysed game footage from sevens and fifteens around the world, as well as research commissioned from Leeds Beckett University.

The changes follow concerns that hip-drop tackles, although relatively rare, can cause significant leg injuries, while knee-drop tackles were identified as becoming more frequent.