Tackling low obligatory?

"Tackle low" was for years the cry from the touchline at a time when a high tackle was above the waist. This cry is no longer heard, in days when tackling is increasingly aimed at the chest to stop offloading or to dislodge the ball.

In an investigation into the incidents of concussion and other head injuries, it was found that 72% were sustained in the tackle. Of that unsurprising figure 76% were found to be the person doing the tackling, rather than the person tackled.

Dr Martin Rafferty, World Rugby's chief medical officer, said of this: "We looked at about 15 variables in the tackle, what causes the injuries, and one interesting one we found was that if people are bent at the waist in tackling the ball-carrier, you get fewer head injuries. So we asked the experts 'how can we get players to bend at the waist in the game?' and they've come up with some recommendations."

In New Zealand Dr Ken Quarrie, a sports medicine expert, is part of a project studying 470 000 insurance claims for rugby injuries at all ages over 10 years. He has recommended that an experiment be done in lowering the tackle area at junior levels. In New Zealand, tackling for Under-12s is restricted to below the chest. Quarrie said: "I don't think it would be a major change to bring that down to the waist."

Rafferty also said: "We have to be sure that if we do make changes that improve the situation with head injuries, we are not causing another problem."

World Rugby, which introduced the pitchside concussion testing when concussion is suspected, is examining the recommendations and the possibility of having trials of possible changes.