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       #Post#: 102872--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Slightly O/T: waist level tackling across all amateur rugby
   DIR By: JammyGit
       Date: January 20, 2023, 8:19 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       It does answer a lot of your questions. This big one:
       --- Quote ---
       > So then are we trying to reduce numbers of head collisions
       without regard for the severity of the ones we're potentially
       going to see more of as a result and which are justifiable as
       "rugby incidents"?
       --- End Quote ---
       has a very clear answer of "no". The studies look at this in
       detail and it is definitely a consideration. Leg tackles are
       more dangerous than waist tackles, but significantly less
       dangerous than upper body tackles. If you have more leg tackles
       and fewer upper body tackles, you will get fewer incidents
       overall.
       The severity of concussions should not hugely change if it's
       knee or skull or shoulder your head is colliding with, and
       there'll be other factors in play as well. It seems wise to
       focus on reducing the number of head contacts as the priority.
       #Post#: 102873--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Slightly O/T: waist level tackling across all amateur rugby
   DIR By: Brown Bottle
       Date: January 20, 2023, 8:20 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       TBQ - you definitely need to read the article Jammy linked. At
       the very least it explains why relying on anecdotal outcome
       evidence from coaches and players is misguided.
       #Post#: 102874--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Slightly O/T: waist level tackling across all amateur rugby
   DIR By: Fursty
       Date: January 20, 2023, 8:28 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Jammy you're obviously quite well read on this - how do you
       prevent a pick and go a couple of meters out from the line if
       you have to go for the legs?
       #Post#: 102876--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Slightly O/T: waist level tackling across all amateur rugby
   DIR By: Brown Bottle
       Date: January 20, 2023, 8:41 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Fursty link ---
       >
       > Jammy you're obviously quite well read on this - how do you
       prevent a pick and go a couple of meters out from the line if
       you have to go for the legs?
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Read the article. 🙂
       #Post#: 102877--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Slightly O/T: waist level tackling across all amateur rugby
   DIR By: JammyGit
       Date: January 20, 2023, 8:45 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Fursty link ---
       >
       > Jammy you're obviously quite well read on this - how do you
       prevent a pick and go a couple of meters out from the line if
       you have to go for the legs?
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       I'll quote the article:
       First:
       --- Quote ---
       > the French also proposed a "partner law change" that would
       regulate the actions by ball carrier.  That is, they said that
       the ball carrier would not be permitted to drop their height
       into contact, or to bend down and lead with the head.  In their
       words, the "defender must be able to tackle the ball carrier and
       so have access to his pelvis".
       --- End Quote ---
       then, regarding this country:
       --- Quote ---
       > More concerningly, and relevant to this story, was the
       negotiation about what to do when the ball carrier is low in
       contact, leading with their head.  This often happens near
       try-lines, and also in so-called pick and go situations.  Even
       in the wider elite game, this issue came up a lot.  People would
       protest harsher sanctions, saying "It is impossible for the
       tackler to avoid head contact if the ball carrier is in a pick
       and go move".
       >
       > The thing is, if you watched rugby any time between 2010 and
       2017, long before the high tackle and head contact focus came
       along, you'd see 30 to 50 of these situations every match, and
       they were never an issue.  Almost always, the ball carrier would
       duck down, lead with their head into the tackler, who typically
       stayed upright and 'soaked' the player.  This situation would
       produce head contact, so strictly speaking, is a 'high tackle',
       but they are never sanctioned, and nor should they be. The
       involve a bent ball carrier against an upright tackler, and head
       contact from the ball carrier's head to the tackler's torso or
       arms, in a wrap tackle.
       >
       > We know that the risk from these is low, and so there's no
       need, even from a risk perspective, to act on these.  They were
       never penalised, not before 2017, not since, but they became the
       focal point of dispute.  In the attempts to navigate this issue,
       I believe a perception was created that the tackler had to be
       lower than the ball carrier, no matter what.
       >
       > This was, in my opinion, an imagined or exaggerated problem,
       but it became crucial, because the response by coaches and
       players to lowering tackle height was to forget that these ball
       carrier induced head impacts have always been quite common, and
       instead, tacklers began reacting to the ball carrier in what
       became a 'race to the ground' while still trying to 'hit' the
       opponent in a dominant tackle.  As a result, a lot of dangerous
       tackles were created where tackles were trying to contact ball
       carriers low, the result being that two heads were still sharing
       airspace, but with both players charging into each other low to
       the ground.  An image of elephant bulls fighting for territory
       comes to mind.
       >
       > It needn't have been like this.  A tackler who remains upright
       and "high" could safely and legally execute a tackle on a bent
       ball carrier, even with the lower tackle height trial, but this
       happened less and less often, replaced instead by something we
       can predict would increase risk.
       >
       > The French solution, as I mention above, was to stop the ball
       carrier from dropping into contact by creating a law for that
       player too.   And it worked.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       My own personal view on it is this:
       1) Players diving for the line are entitled to dive for the line
       without risking head injury if they're not deliberately aiming
       their head at something hard. "Rugby is a game of inches" is
       just a saying, it's not the actual law. IMO the sport goes too
       far in encouraging actions that are unsafe purely to prevent
       something from happening; for example, massive clean outs
       because "we might lose the ball". The risk of such an action is
       far too high especially in service to such a small thing.
       2) If you are in a position where you are unable to soak them or
       grapple them, and cannot effect a legal tackle, it's a try.
       3) I would not be against making 10m the distance for scrums and
       lineouts, not 5m
       4) The pick and go game is an absolute mess of illegality as it
       stands and could use harsh focus tbh
       #Post#: 102878--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Slightly O/T: waist level tackling across all amateur rugby
   DIR By: poorfour
       Date: January 20, 2023, 8:50 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Fursty link ---
       >
       > Jammy you're obviously quite well read on this - how do you
       prevent a pick and go a couple of meters out from the line if
       you have to go for the legs?
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Go for the waist. Also, refs always have been and always will be
       a bit more lenient on tackles near the try line because both
       players are generally trying to get lower.
       In terms of the risk of head-to-knee contact, I think it's a
       strawman.
       To put your head at knee height, your head basically needs to be
       lower than your own knees (or the player needs to be
       high-stepping. But David Campese retired ages ago). That is very
       hard to do if you're actually driving with your legs. Unless
       you're skilled enough to chop tackle (in which case you know
       what you're doing), your head is only going to get to that
       height if you trip or fall into the tackle - and that can happen
       regardless of tackle height.
       One of the earlier studies on injuries in rugby found that
       (especially at amateur level) tacklers are injured more often
       than the tackled player, usually by getting their heads in the
       wrong place. One thing the French experience reportedly found
       was that the risk to the tackler was much reduced.
       #Post#: 102890--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Slightly O/T: waist level tackling across all amateur rugby
   DIR By: Rocker
       Date: January 20, 2023, 6:58 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The actual data from the French trial doesn't really "prove"
       anything. The difference in the number of concussions/Head
       Injuries is statistically very small, especially in such a large
       sample. It is all about the RFU and other unions running scared
       of litigation.
       Bloody lawyers screwing life up for everyone as always 🤬
       Rugby is inherently a dangerous game as a contact sport, but no
       more so than many other full contact sports. Probably safer than
       horse riding still.... Maybe the RFU would just be happier is we
       all sat in the stands and watched, while supporting whatever
       fashionable cause they've decided to champion. I'm not really
       sure that they like rugby or rugby players/fans.......
       I do definitely get the feeling that it's just more PC bs to
       satisfy the twitterati 🙄 The trouble is you can never
       win because unless you eviscerate yourself entirely, they still
       don't like you as you represent something they don't like. Why
       isn't the FA banning heading the ball as there is evidence (at
       least as good) that that can produce "brain injury" ?
       #Post#: 102892--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Slightly O/T: waist level tackling across all amateur rugby
   DIR By: Yareet
       Date: January 21, 2023, 2:48 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Rocker link ---
       >
       > The actual data from the French trial doesn't really "prove"
       anything. The difference in the number of concussions/Head
       Injuries is statistically very small, especially in such a large
       sample. It is all about the RFU and other unions running scared
       of litigation.
       > Bloody lawyers screwing life up for everyone as always
       🤬
       > Rugby is inherently a dangerous game as a contact sport, but
       no more so than many other full contact sports. Probably safer
       than horse riding still.... Maybe the RFU would just be happier
       is we all sat in the stands and watched, while supporting
       whatever fashionable cause they've decided to champion. I'm not
       really sure that they like rugby or rugby players/fans.......
       > I do definitely get the feeling that it's just more PC bs to
       satisfy the twitterati 🙄 The trouble is you can never
       win because unless you eviscerate yourself entirely, they still
       don't like you as you represent something they don't like. Why
       isn't the FA banning heading the ball as there is evidence (at
       least as good) that that can produce "brain injury" ?
       >
       --- End Quote ---
  HTML https://amp.theguardian.com/football/2022/jul/18/fa-to-trial-banning-deliberate-heading-by-children-under-12-in-england
  HTML https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/scottish-football-to-ban-heading-the-day-before-and-after-matches-3933256?amp
       #Post#: 102894--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Slightly O/T: waist level tackling across all amateur rugby
   DIR By: JammyGit
       Date: January 21, 2023, 4:29 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Very much enjoying Rocker's commitment to the 'bit'.
       #Post#: 102952--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Slightly O/T: waist level tackling across all amateur rugby
   DIR By: Kermitpower
       Date: January 21, 2023, 3:34 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: ChiddQuin link ---
       >
       > Me too! That must date us.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       My lad is 15 this month.  He's still coached to take the legs.
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