Players to attend tackling school to knock a week off a suspension in new a World Rugby protocol

World Rugby are cracking down on head contacts in the sport with a new protocol which will allow players to have their sanctions reduced by extra training on safe tackling.

The changes which come in at Test level with immediate effect will see players able to knock a week off a ban by attending tackling lessons.

“World Rugby has furthered its commitment to reduce concussions in the sport with the launch of a technique coaching intervention for players who receive a red card for head contact." A statement from the sports governing body reas. 

Designed to work in conjunction with the recently launched Head Contact Process (HCP) which has advanced rugby’s tough stance on head contact, the coaching intervention is aimed at amplifying awareness of the importance of technique and encouraging players and coaches to practice tackle technique that carries a statistically lower injury risk, reducing the number of red cards over time.

Operational for the July tests and initially running as a one-year pilot programme in elite competitions that operate the Head Injury Assessment (HIA) protocol, any player who has a citing or red card upheld by a disciplinary panel for contact with the head may apply for mitigation of their sanction for a coaching intervention which will analyse tackle/contact technique and identify and implement positive modifications to reduce the risk of injury. This intervention will be overseen by an independent expert coaching review group and will only be available on a one-off basis to players. 

A player participating in the coaching intervention will work with their coach to identify how technique contributed to the foul play. The coach and player will then provide video evidence of the interventions and modifications that they undertook. The coaching intervention will be assessed by an independent review group of expert coaches (see editors notes), who will work with the coach where necessary to ensure that the highlighted areas of technique have been addressed. The completion of a successful coaching intervention will reduce the player’s sanction by a week/match.