Rugby Australia trial new tackle height laws to combat concussion

Trial law 9.13 designed to reduce head-to-head contact in tacklesResearch shows concussion risks far higher in tackles above sternum

Rugby Australia has confirmed that it will implement a new trial that will see the legal height of tackles in the game lowered to below the sternum from February.

The trial is designed to reduce the risk of head-to-head and head-to-shoulder contact between ball carriers and tacklers. World Rugby research has shown the risk of concussion is more than four times higher when the tackler’s head is above the ball carrier’s sternum.

The new 9.13 law will see match officials place greater emphasis on preventing a ball carrier “dipping” into a tackle and placing themselves, and potentially the defender, in an unsafe position for contact. However, it will not change the ability for an attacking player to “pick-and-go” when starting and continuing at a low body height.
The two-year trial comes after Rugby Australia announced its support for World Rugby’s global research initiative last March, and will apply to all levels of Rugby below Super Rugby level when introduced in February. It follows more than six years of research that has already seen trials of lower tackle heights undertaken in nations including France, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

Preliminary data in South Africa has shown a 30 per cent reduction in concussions, while France recorded a 64 per cent reduction in head-on-head contact – as well as a 14 per cent increase in participation on pre-COVID levels.

This change in law will apply to all Australian rugby union competitions below Super Rugby that commence on or after 10 February, 2024, through till the end of 2025, and includes school and pathway competitions to protect the code’s young players.

Since their abysmal 2023 World Cup, in which the Wallabies failed to make the finals for the first time in 36 years, Australian Rugby has reeled from crisis to crisis, with coach Eddie Jones quitting in October and CEO Hamish McLennan rolled from the leadership in a boardroom coup last month.

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