World Rugby have warned players and coaches that cards will be shown without any hesitation at all if a high-tackle occurs during this year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan.
The organisation’s head of refereeing Alain Rolland has made it clear that player safety is the most important part of the game and that the new framework that has been put in place for referees will be used at the tournament to attempt to protect players.
“We’ve made it very clear as to what the high tackle framework is, how it would operate and how it is there to protect them. Everything we do is to protect the players. I’d be very confident that they (players) are aware of the high-tackle framework, and how it works,” he said.
The new guidelines are in place to try and reduce the number of potential incidents that lead to concussion. Among the latest update to the rules the referee will now check for any contact with the head, assess the degree of danger involved in the tackle and if there are any mitigating circumstances that occurred during the process of the tackle.
The move to clarify the rule changes now means that players have been warned and can have no complaints if they fall on the wrong side of the referee.
Changing the guidelines also comes after there was a serious debate following the sending off of Scott Barrett during this year’s Rugby Championship, after he was deemed to have dangerously tackled Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper.
There were many different views on the official’s decision that day with England head coach Eddie Jones even coming out and saying the decision was ridiculous, but nobody will be able to complain now following Roland’s warning.
The global competition is set to kick-off this Friday as hosts Japan play Russia and it will be interesting to see how many cards are shown during the 48 matches over the next two months.
