Sunday 21 July 2019

Immediate implementation of law changes re scrum and high tackles

Referees will have received an email this week containing a letter from World Rugby pertaining to the immediate implementation of law changes re scrum and high tackles. The important bits are:

1) Law 19.10b changed to read “The front-rows crouch with their heads to the left of their immediate opponents’, so that no player’s head is touching the neck or shoulders of an opponent.”

2) The wording in the High Tackle Sanction Framework amended to remove references to direct or indirect contact and to simplify the questions within the framework.

3) The mandatory mid-range sanction in the Regulation 17 Sanction Table is amended to include both head and/or neck: “Note: Any act of foul play which results in contact with the head and/or neck shall result in at least a mid-range sanction”