Rugby Union – Red card or yellow card making sense of decisions World Rugby guidelines.
Rugby Union – Red card or just yellow? There has been much controversy recently relating to incidents relating to head impacts at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
So what are the World Rugby Guidelines that govern if the tackle is legal or not.
These are well explained in a World Rugby video
Following the video it explains that if a tackle doesn’t involve what is commonly called a wrap then it is deemed illegal. As explained below in the graphic, if the tackle is illegal then mitigation can’t be applied to the decision.
World Rugby doesn’t use the word ‘wrap’ in it’s guidlines but in relation to the arms in the tackle it defines legal or illegal as whether the arm is behind or in front at the moment of contact with the ball carrier.
An example of an illegal high tackle.
Two factors:
1) Is the arm behind or in front at the point of impact. Behind =shoulder charge. In front = high tackle.
Basically Law then 9.12 or 9.13
2) Is contact direct with head or neck.
Its illegal, WR don’t refer to a wrap but the position of the arm at impact.
“The definition being the whether the arm is behind or in front at the moment of contact with the ball carrier.”
As it’s always illegal there is no mitigation.
This was referred to this in detail previously:
