All Blacks great concerned World Rugby have created a ‘s—storm’ with ‘confusing as hell’ law amendment
An example of a sternum tackle in URC game and Lood de Jager sent off against France for a high shot.
Former All Blacks star Israel Dagg believes that there will be significant ‘confusion’ after World Rugby decided to expand its tackle height law trial.
For the elite players, it is currently at shoulder level, but sternum height has been trialled in the community game in various countries over the past couple of years.
The global governing body will now lower the tackle height for the World Rugby U20 Championship in 2026, which is the biggest step they have taken to potentially make it law later down the line.
Dagg was asked about the decision on Sport Nation’s Scotty and Izzy show, and he was initially in support of it, particularly following the incident involving rugby league player Eli Katoa, who suffered three head shots in the same game.
What happened to rugby league star Eli Katoa
Katoa was knocked out before a Tonga match but was allowed to play and then proceeded to sustain two more hits to the head.
It resulted in a bleed on the brain, with the forward undergoing an operation. Thankfully, Katoa is currently recovering but his career remains in the balance.
“It’s quite evident now, with Eli Katoa and so on, that they’re going to continue to try and shift the tackle height, so you’ve got to start somewhere, and this is an opportunity for these kids to learn and develop, and try and lower that tackle height,” Dagg said.
“You feel for the big men, particularly the South African locks, who are already struggling to get low.
“We’ve got to try and change the way that we approach the game defensively and now teams are going to have to adapt and adjust, and look for certain ways to try and dominate the tackle.
“The way that I played, and a lot of teams play, you’ve got one low and one high, and now there’s going to be a lot of concern for that player coming up high.
“It’s probably going to be confusing as hell because like everything and every change, there are going to be moments out there where you’re thinking, ‘what the hell is going on? Why is that decision being made’
“Hopefully there’s some common sense prevailing in this, but I’m for it. I think it’s a good opportunity to make some changes and potentially help some HIAs and head knocks.”
Despite the law moving the tackle height down to the sternum, there are some important things to note about the amendment.
For example, the pick and go will be refereed slightly differently, given that the player in possession tends to be lower to the ground, while ball carriers will not be allowed to lead with the head.
It therefore opens it up to officiating interpretation and that lack of clarity could cause issues when it comes to adjudging certain incidents.
“There’s going to be a lot of grey areas, there are going to be moments out there where you’re thinking, ‘where the hell has the game gone?’” Dagg said.
“Officials are probably going to get involved a little bit more. The TMO, I know we don’t want to hear it but they’re going to get involved because the officials will miss a lot of it out there.
“We’re trying to look for player safety and change things to look after that player.”
Who will be deemed at fault?
The longer the conversation went on, the less convinced Dagg seemed and as host Scotty Stevenson suggested in regards to the pick and go: “You can’t chop tackle, you can’t go straight at the knees with the shoulder, you can’t go sternum because the sternum is hidden by the head and they can’t carry the ball and lead with their head.”
Dagg agreed, responding: “It’s a hard one because I’ve never been in that position but the thing is that the big boys are big. They’ve got to get really low and when you’re on that line they’re diving pretty horizontal, so basically they’ve got to get even lower and try and come up.
“This is going to get so confusing. I can understand why [they’ve introduced it] because they’re trying to get ahead of the curve with head knocks and player safety.
“We all want that but there’s going to be instances in the game, there’s going to be moments and parts of the game you just can’t alleviate, you can’t get rid of it – it’s just impossible.
“That’s why the game is so beautiful and unique as it is. Rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes, we have to remember that, and there are going to be times when you can’t get rid of certain things on the park.
“Honestly, the more that I think about it, it’s going to be a s***storm.”