AusLeisure

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has this week announced three game innovations that will be trialled for the 2023 community rugby season, designed to improve player safety, flow of the game and keep the ball in play more.

The changes are supported by the 26 Provincial Unions and include a significant reduction in tackle height to below the sternum across all community rugby, including senior premier club and school First XV grades.

Advising that the tackle height change reflected rugby’s on-going commitment to improving player safety, NZR General Manager Community Rugby Steve Lancaster stated "we strongly believe that rugby offers so many benefits for our community participants that far outweigh the risk of injury. Our focus is on continuing to find ways to reduce that risk and make the game as safe as possible, while also preserving the social and individual benefits of the game.

"New Zealand Rugby and our rugby community continue to be world-leading in our approach to player safety and we can be really proud of that. This is a significant and positive change for the game."

The new initiatives were trialled in selected grades last year and Lancaster said feedback from players, coaches and referees confirmed the focus on reducing tackle height was the right approach for the community game.

Lancaster added "our participants have told us that they want to see improvements made to the tackle and breakdown areas, so that’s been our focus. The resounding feedback we’ve received from this season’s trials is that the game is more enjoyable to play and safer when the tackle height is reduced to below the sternum, or what some people will know as the belly."

Feedback from community grades trialling the reduced tackle height in the 2022 season found that 78% of participants believed it improved the tackler’s safety, 73% felt it made the game faster and 72% thought there were more opportunities for offloads.

The trial will see the first tackler required to target the belly area below the sternum, with the second tackler still able to legally tackle below the shoulders in accordance with current rugby law.

After a successful trial across non-premier senior and teenage rugby in 2022, restrictions around the defending halfback at scrums will now be extended to include all grades of community rugby, including senior premier club and First XV school rugby.

To improve attacking opportunities from scrums, halfbacks of the team not in possession will be required to remain one metre from the scrum and may not advance past the tunnel until the scrum has ended.

Senior club rugby grades (except for premier grades) are also set to continue trialling a maximum scrum push of 1.5 metres next season, with Lancaster adding that the innovation required more time to establish if the change had improved player safety outcomes.

Lancaster went on to advise "reducing the risk of injuries at scrums has long been a focus for the game. We know from this year’s trial that the ball spent less time in the scrum, which brings positives around ball-in-play time, but we need more time to understand from a player safety perspective if we’ve got this quite right."

NZR will be seek feedback from participants on the breakdown area throughout the 2023 community rugby season, with game innovations set to be introduced in 2024.

Community rugby game innovations coming into effect for the 2023 season:

• Reduced tackle height to below the sternum targeting the belly area for all community rugby grades
• The first tackler must tackle below the sternum and target the belly area. The second tackler can legally tackle below the shoulders in accordance with current rugby law.
• Defensive halfback offside at scrum for all community rugby grades
• The halfback of the team not in possession must remain 1 metre from the scrum and may not advance past the tunnel until the scrum has ended.
• Maximum 1.5 metre scrum push for all community rugby, excluding senior premier club rugby grades
• The maximum push of any scrum is limited to 1.5 metres, unless the scrum is within 5 metres of the goal line. Please note: Small Blacks rugby at U12 and U13s is already limited to a maximum 0.5 metre scrum push and Teenage rugby is also limited to a maximum 1.5 metre scrum push.

More information can be found at www.nzrugby.co.nz

Related Articles

25th October 2022 - AFL apologises to past players over past concussion research

14th September 2022 - New Zealand Rugby penalised for failing to achieve board gender diversity target

15th June 2022 - New Zealand Rugby members approve partnership with US private equity firm Silver Lake

26th May 2022 - New Zealand Rugby partnership to power global digital transformation

17th February 2022 - New Zealand Rugby agrees All Blacks investment from US private equity firm Silver Lake

15th June 2021 - Environment groups object to New Zealand Rugby’s oil company sponsorship deal

8th June 2021 - Community rugby head impact study involves World Rugby, New Zealand Rugby, the University of Otago and Prevent Biometrics

1st June 2021 - New Zealand Rugby appoints new Chair and Deputy

29th April 2021 - New Zealand Rugby approves investment by US private equity firm Silver Lake

13th November 2020 - Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby announce domestic and trans-Tasman tournaments for 2021

20th August 2020 - New Zealand Rugby looks to stage full series of Tests in coming months

2nd June 2020 - New Zealand Rugby announces details of new domestic competition

11th May 2020 - Coronavirus and financial losses push New Zealand Rugby to lay off half its staff

21st November 2019 - New Zealand Rugby and Aktive extend Auckland partnership

10th September 2019 - New Zealand Rugby names former All Black as new Chief Executive

9th August 2019 - Injury concerns force World Rugby to introduce new tackling laws

11th July 2019 - New Zealand Rugby selection process needs to include moral as well as social values

3rd March 2018 - Lions tour helps deliver 2017 profit for New Zealand Rugby

11th September 2017 - Review finds that New Zealand rugby must change attitudes towards women

14th November 2016 - World Rugby orders new focus on dangerous head contact

6th December 2015 - New Zealand Rugby reports growth in participation among girls and women

15th August 2014 - Tackles taking physical and psychological toll on rugby league players

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.