​Fylde RFC must get to grips with radical rule change dividing rugby union

In a drastic move designed to reduce head injuries, the Rugby Football Union is to outlaw tackling above waist height after this season.

Perhaps most controversially, the new rule applies to most levels of the sport but not all: the top two tiers of the men’s professional game in England are excluded as is the women’s elite competition.

The RFU has vowed to provide clubs with guidelines and clarity to help implement the change from July 1.

Fylde’s senior rugby consultant and Lancashire head coach, Mark Nelson, told The Gazette: “The RFU have to deal with the fact they have created two games within rugby union.

“Tackling and how the ball is carried into the tackle are fundamental activities of the game.

“Rugby union is a collision sport and you can’t change that. It’s like taking heading out of football below Championship level or restricting boxing to body shots.”

Fylde’s joint-head coach Alex Loney said: “The intention to reduce head injuries definitely needs to stay on the agenda. I work in a school and know young people must be able to access the game safely, but it’s fair to say this rule has split opinion. At an adult level, there’s a big voice that this isn’t what the game wants.

“There will be intentional and unintentional consequences, but unless something changes drastically we will have to adapt in only a few months.

“It’s the game a lot of us love and I’ve heard statements that some will lose their interest. I won’t be one of those but there will have to be a change of mindset.”

The great many issues raised include movement of players and clubs between competitions operating under different rules.

Nelson added: “A club may have its first XV playing under one rule and its seconds and other sides playing another.

“Fylde have regularly taken dual-registration players from Sale Sharks, for instance, but they would be playing under different rules, so how does that help them develop?”

The new rule is a potential nightmare for referees, who must also be on guard against ball carriers falling into tackles to win penalties.

Nelson said: “It may not be too bad out wide, when the defence drifts and can effect a regulation tackle from the side, but what happens with a front-on tackle in the middle of the field? How can you dip your body sufficiently to tackle below the waist, which also brings the knee to the head back into play? How does a 6ft 6ins player tackle one who is 5ft 8ins?”

Loney expressed sympathy for referees, adding: “What happens with mauls or competing for kicks, and how do you rip the ball or compete for possession in the tackle?”

The tackle is far from the only area of the game in which head injuries could potentially occur.

“This could be the thin end of the wedge,” added Nelson. “Will they look at the ruck next and scrums? If they mess about with those then the game will bear no resemblance to what it is now.”

Nelson acknowledges the RFU cannot impose its rulings on elite competitions without the authorisation of World Rugby, though he argues any change should have been delayed until the entire sport was on board.

He said: “We talk about the great schism of 1895, when there was a breakaway to form rugby league, but we could be looking at something similar in 2023, when another new game is formed.”

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