By Akani Nkuna
Research involving the University of Cape Town has helped inform changes to rugby’s tackle laws aimed at reducing the risk of concussion while preserving the physical nature of the sport.
The research, led by Dr Sharief Hendricks and colleagues at UCT’s Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport Research Centre and Leeds Beckett University, examined whether lowering the permitted tackle height could make rugby safer.
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The work was undertaken in collaboration with World Rugby, which wanted to determine whether changing the laws governing tackles could measurably reduce concussion risk.
A research team led by Dr James Brown conducted a trial during 2018 and 2019 in collaboration with Stellenbosch University, using its rugby environment to investigate the effect of lowering tackle height.
The study, conducted in the Stellenbosch University rugby environment, recorded a “31% non-significant reduction in concussion” during the trial period. That trial did not itself test the later international rollout of the regulations.
While the reduction did not reach statistical significance, Hendricks and his colleagues said it could still be “clinically relevant”.
World Rugby subsequently considered the research alongside evidence and input from players, rugby unions and other stakeholders as it weighed what Hendricks described as the balance between “safety and spectacle”.
The governing body later introduced lower tackle-height regulations across participating unions, requiring tackles at youth and community level to be made below the sternum. The regulations were implemented internationally, including in Italy.
Hendricks said the research highlighted the importance of cooperation between scientists and sporting organisations when attempting to translate academic findings into changes on the field.
“You can come up with a really, really good idea,” Hendricks said, “but it doesn’t necessarily mean society will take it up.”
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Researchers have since turned their attention to how new tackle rules are adopted by players, coaches and teams, including whether coaches are equipped to teach lower tackling techniques and whether players understand why the changes are being introduced.
World Rugby has also asked the research team to assess the international implementation of the tackle-height regulations and has provided individual rugby unions with data allowing them to examine the impact within their own environments. Research into the global effect of the intervention is continuing.
“The external stakeholder is involved from the research question, data collection, all the way to exploring the data,” Hendricks said.
Hendricks said the relationship between researchers and external stakeholders was a bridge connecting scientific knowledge to real-world practice, helping bridge the gap between academic research and what coaches, players and sporting organisations can practically implement.
“When you put in the time, the long-term project, you build the bridge,” he said. “The flow runs both ways easily.”
