'I’m not convinced': Lambie weighs in on tackle height debate
SPOTLIGHT: For a player who suffered multiple concussions that forced his premature retirement from rugby at the age of 28, former Springbok playmaker Pat Lambie is an important voice in the debate around making the game safer.
And Lambie is not convinced a lower tackle height below the sternum, as proposed by World Rugby, is the solution.
The former Sharks star, who still keeps a keen eye on his team’s progress in the United Rugby Championship, says tackle technique is still more important to him than tackle height.
He also argues that defences are so well structured these days that the current stoppages in the game leading to less free-flowing rugby isn’t helping.
“Player safety is obviously critical and reckless contact situations need to be ironed out and completely removed from our game,” said Lambie.
“High tackles around the neck, shoulder charges and no arms tackles – as a defender you can’t afford to be doing that these days and those are all good laws to have in place.
“But in terms of tackle height, I’m not sure. I’m not convinced that stipulating lower tackle techniques is going to necessarily mean less concussions or head and neck injuries.
“I’m completely against high tackles and shoulders to heads and necks and dangerous tackles. But anywhere below, as long as the technique is good, then both the tackler and attacking player should have the chance of avoiding injuries.”
Lambie said education around tackle techniques needs to be an integral part of a player’s development.
“Players need to be repeatedly trained from a young age as to how to get their heads on the right side of the tackle.
“It’s more important to get your head on the right side of the tackle, and to have one-on-one collisions as opposed to double-contact collisions.
“With one-on-one collisions, there is less chance you are going to get your head in the wrong place, but when there’s two of you tackling the same person, now there are three bodies involved in an uncontrolled contact situation.
“Or when the ball carrier is being latched by someone else – now suddenly you’re the tackler tackling two ball carriers. You have three people in the contact. In those situations it becomes quite hard to avoid head injuries like a head on the hip or a swinging knee that gets you by mistake.
“It’s those sorts of contact situations that need to be looked at more closely.”
Lambie believes more free-flowing rugby and less stoppages could be a solution as well.
“Defences are so much more organised nowadays, so often the good defensive sides are making double hits on a ball carrier more often.
“A more free-flowing game with more ball in play means players get more tired, defences become less structured and there are more one-on-one opportunities so there will be more linebreaks and less huge collisions.
“It becomes less of a war of attrition if you like. That’s where I think there can be improvements in our game.”
