- World Rugby's executive board has stopped short of making a permanent decision on lowering legal tackle heights in elite rugby
- Data gathered from just 40 games at the 2026 U20 Junior World Championship has been deemed insufficient for a definitive ruling
- A new dangerous tackling technique has emerged during trials, prompting an urgent law clarification from World Rugby officials
World Rugby has pumped the brakes on introducing a lower tackle height across elite rugby, with its executive board calling for further trials before any permanent law change is considered.
The governing body had been monitoring a reduced legal tackle height during the 2026 U20 Junior World Championship, but concluded that the 40 games played during that competition did not produce enough evidence to justify a sweeping change to the senior game, both on the men's and women's side.
World Rugby Chairman Brett Robinson acknowledged the value of the trial while tempering expectations. "The trials from earlier this year were really interesting, but the reality is we're not yet able to come to a definitive conclusion on such an important issue in our game," he said. "The data from 40 games at this year's Junior World Championship just isn't enough to say how such a change would impact the men's and women's elite game."
Robinson added that while member unions are keen to see the trial extended, meaningful data will only come from adoption at a competitive domestic level. "The only way we're ever really going to get the level of data we need is for an elite domestic level competition to adopt the trial," he said.
The trials have not been without complication. World Rugby noted a rise in "knee drop" tackles during the lower-tackle-height period, where players drop to their knees in a dangerous manner before making contact. In response, the executive board issued a law clarification at the start of October, reinforcing existing regulations and directing match officials to act in clear and obvious circumstances.
Two specific tackling actions have also been placed under sharper scrutiny. The "hip drop" tackle, in which a tackler uses their bodyweight to bring a ball carrier down and then drops onto the player's legs from behind, will be formally written into foul play law and will carry at least a penalty kick as a sanction. The "knee drop" technique, meanwhile, has been highlighted as already prohibited under current law and can similarly result in a penalty.
The findings from the U20 World Championship trial will be presented and examined at the World Rugby Medical Commission Conference, scheduled for 27 and 28 October in Frankfurt, Germany.
Robinson emphasised that player welfare remains central to all decisions. "Player welfare is at the heart of everything we do and that goes for unintended consequences just as much as it does for those changes to the game we consciously make," he said.
Source: Briefly News
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