Following a directive to all referees from the IRB issued on 21st January 2011, Rugby followers can expect to see dangerous (high) tackles penalised more severely than previously.

In a memorandum addressed to all Referees, Citing Commissioners, Judicial Officers, and Non Legal Judicial Committee Members, jointly issued by the IRB Referees Manager Paddy O’Brien, and the Judicial Panel Chairman, Tim Gresson it was stressed that:

“The purpose of this Memorandum is to emphasise that as with tip tackles, they must be dealt with severely by Referees and all those involved in the off-field disciplinary process.

It is recognised of course, as with other types of illegal and/or foul play, depending on the circumstances of the high tackle, the range of sanctions extends from a penalty kick to the player receiving a red card. An illegal high tackle involving a stiff arm or swinging arm to the head of the opponent, with no regard to the player’s safety, bears all the hallmarks of an action which should result in a red card or a yellow card being seriously considered.

Referees and Citing Commissioners should not make their decisions based on what they consider was the intention of the offending player. Their decision should be based on an objective assessment (as per Law 10.4(e)) of the overall circumstances of the tackle.”

The move by the IRB Referees and Judicial Committee to issue the directive were based on two studies into Rugby injuries completed in England and New Zealand which concluded that “stricter implementation of the Laws of Rugby relating to collisions and tackles above the line of the shoulder may reduce the number of head/neck injuries”, and that “ball carriers were at highest risk from tackles to the head and neck region.” respectively.

These results of these two studies were discussed at an IRB Medical Conference during November 2010, where the participants “generally recognised that tackles above the line of the shoulders have the potential to cause serious injury and noted that a trend had emerged whereby players responsible for such tackles were not being suitably sanctioned.”

The specifics of the law in question (10.4(e)) state:

• A player must not tackle (or try to tackle) an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders. A tackle around the opponent’s neck or head is dangerous play.
• A stiff-arm tackle is dangerous play. A player makes a stiff-arm tackle when using a stiff-arm to strike an opponent.

The question that we as Rugby supporters and lovers should really asking ourselves is whether we can expect this directive to cause referees to go “over the top” in the implementation, and dish out yellow cards like lucky packets at a Kids birthday party, or will they use their discretion and blow the law sensibly and take the particular circumstances into consideration.

For example, I can just imagine a lock like Bakkies Botha attempting to tackle a sniping Scrum-half like Jano Vermaak or Ricky Januarie and earning the himself a yellow card for no other reason than being half a metre taller than the opponent who tried in vain to avoid the tackle.

The outcome of games can revolve around such instances, and while the safety of players should take precedence over all else, the game should remain a fair contest.

Let’s all hope that the 31st men on the fields don’t grab all the headlines for all the wrong reasons, but given the strict implementations after similar directives in the past, it could just be the case that initially referees will want to make a point.