Simply cut out the high tackles

Deon Fourie of the Stormers held in a high tackle by Keegan Daniel (Captain) of the Sharks. Photo: Peter Heeger

Deon Fourie of the Stormers held in a high tackle by Keegan Daniel (Captain) of the Sharks. Photo: Peter Heeger

Published Sep 13, 2014

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Johannesburg - What happens when somebody dies? It is not a sensationalist question and it is not a red herring. When it eventually happens and a well-known international player is hit with a high tackle and, in front of the world, suffers a broken neck and dies on the field of play, all hell will break loose.

Parents and haters of the game all over the world will call for radical change. There will be soul-searching and finger-pointing and suggestions that rugby must be emasculated. Helmets will be recommended, touch rugby tackles will be called for, and what makes the game great and brave and wonderful and special will be taken away. That is why high tackles are policed so seriously and it is quite right.

In order to preserve the unique physical characteristics of the game, scrums have already been changed out of all recognition.

You cannot scrum up, down or in and the buffalo-like charges of old are gone. Argentina have just proved that the contest can still be a thing of beauty and a major advantage when done well, but the danger has been minimised radically. Think about it. What would have happened if a Test player had died on the field in a scrum of old? The rugby brand would have been crucified.

Changing the laws and interpretation pro-actively has preserved the essence and hardness of rugby scrummaging and for this, the tsars of the game deserve both praise and thanks. They saw the danger and headed it off at the pass and they did it by preserving what scrummaging is all about. Now they are doing the same for tackling, and instead of praise, they receive abuse, especially from outraged South African commentators and fans - but, mind you, only when we lose.

Yes, Duane Vermeulen was unlucky when that savagely wonderful tackle right on the borderline got called. Yes, Bryan Habana was unlucky when his tackle led to his sin-binning, but it was also on the borderline. Instead of howling like stuck pigs, we should be asking why referees are so sensitive about this? Surprise, surprise - the answer is already there is black and white. It is in the laws of the game of Rugby Union in a memorandum about the specific provisions of Law 10.4 (e) in relation to high tackles. Look it up on Google.

An IRB medical conference held in the UK in 2010 outlined that, based on a study of injuries, “stricter implementation of the laws related to collisions and high tackles may reduce the number of head and neck injuries”. Another study, from New Zealand, concluded that ball-carriers were at the highest risk. They also concluded that a trend had emerged whereby players responsible for such tackles were not being suitably sanctioned. Thus, referees are tasked with being more severe on high tackles and, even if the intention was good and started off low, they should be strict. It is there for all to see. Now the refs are being nailed to err on the side of safety and to be strict and severe. Remember, just like the players, they are all playing for places at next year’s World Cup and we are seeing how it is going to be policed.

The intention is secondary to the inherent danger of the incident. In other words, they are trying to force tackling to be lower by penalising anything that remotely comes close to the line. You tackle borderline at your own peril. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to work it out. It is regime change.

The Boks have a reputation of being wonderfully brave, fast, strong and physical and of being dumb. Sad but true, and Richie McCaw’s book is confirmation. We do not work things out quickly but rather protest and claim victim status before we ultimately adapt. The hysterical reaction to a ref doing his almost impossible job is just another example of this. We are not looking behind the interpretation and using that to our advantage.

Rather than blaming the refs, who are doing what they are supposed to do to change tackling, we should ask why our players are risking sanction in the first place? Maybe today we will find our touches when it matters and also tackle a bit lower. Both are no-brainers.

*Robbie hosts the Breakfast Show 6-9am weekdays on Talk Radio 702, and is winner of the 2014 MTN Radio Awards best commercial breakfast show and best presenter

Saturday Star

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