Rugby tackle height: RFU confirms new legal height as 'base of sternum' not waist down

Player safety is at the forefront of the decision, says English rugby union's governing body

The legal tackle height in community rugby will be lowered from below the shoulders to the "base of the sternum" from next season, the Rugby Football Union has confirmed.

In January the RFU announced the tackle height would be from the "waist" down, a decision which was met with uproar in the game.

The RFU have since canvassed the views of 8,500 people on how to word the law change.

It will come into effect from 1 July.

"I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this consultation and to say thank you in advance to the wider rugby family who will be vital to ensuring we implement this change successfully," said RFU president Nigel Gillingham.

"We along with many other Unions across the world are lowering the tackle height to reduce the risk of concussion."

After the botched attempt to force through the law change earlier this year, the RFU says it has "undertaken extensive consultation to listen to feedback on how to best define and implement the law variations".

This consultation was not over whether there should be a law change in the first place, despite widespread fears of a mass player exodus from the sport, but rather how to describe and implement the law change voted through in January.

While it is thought no survey regarding future participation levels was carried out by the RFU, the union does say more than 60% of the participants were "concerned about the risk of concussion in the context of long-term brain health in rugby".

According to the RFU research, current players are less concerned about the risks compared to former players, parents and match officials.

"We know change is challenging, however, it is imperative that we are guided by the science to help make the game safer for our players," added Gillingham.

Meanwhile, laws around the "pick and go", when the ball carrier adopts a deliberately low body position, will not change, with many of those involved in the consultation recognising that "pick and drives" occur with lower speeds and with lower impact.

An RFU statement added: "The RFU Council is reviewing law application guidance which is being written based on the findings of the consultation.

"The guidance, which will be published in the coming weeks, will focus on helping players, coaches and match officials interpret and apply the law changes and other areas of law that will come under additional focus (e.g. actions of the ball carrier, sanctioning, clarification of open play when tackles occur etc).

"A detailed plan of content and training materials for each specific rugby audience is planned with guidance documents, training videos, quizzes and online and face to face training running from May throughout the summer and through into the next season."