The Worst Law Change In Rugby History...

[@talentfinder575]

Totally agree, these rugby law makers have lost the plot. They are actually creating situations where more injuries will occur, because of indecisive decision making when tackling. Most importantly, it’s gonna make the game really frustrating to play and watch.

[@elevan2760]

More frustrating than it already is to watch

[@dreammaker9642]

I think these lawmakers got one too many concussions… that explains everything

[@landonmaybaum5321]

theres a 6 ft 10 dude and a 5 foot 2 guy on my team ..... how the fuck is the tall guy supposed to tackle the short guy under these rules

[@uggy]

😂😂😂

[@drewwilliams6888]

Exactly, the lawmakers, forget about this size of players.

[@DaisyChesneysGirlfriend]

Opens up rugby for blokes who are less than 5’8, they’ll be impossible to tackle😂😂

[@uggy]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@russellblake9850]

Totally agree. I personally don't like chop tackles, as it is so easy to target (intentionally or not) the knees. I think the biggest effed up part is keeping "full" tackling at the international level. So guys come up from "low" tackle grades then have to adapt to "full" tackles ... when do they learn full tackling safely ? And then guys getting relegated from full tackles to low tackles ... forgetting and oops ! I agree, "someone" in the IRB governorship wants this, come hell or high water. But so many of Union's recent rule changes are so effed up ... Anyone for League ?

[@dreammaker9642]

I mean what happens when a block is built like me… I can guarantee you that 9/10 times you’ll never even have a chance to touch my leg… contact with my shoulder and pushing my momentum forward I’ll go down without you ever touching my legs… so with this rule I can’t be tackled legally… so in an entire game you maybe for me twice and I got 10 penalties for my team and 10 yellow cards… world rugby should change their lawmakers, they clearly had one too many concussions

[@quokka1929]

tough call tbh cause in kids rugby and amateur concussions happen too much and are too dangerous for regular people, but at the same time waist below is still quite dangerous. something still needs to change but good vid mate

[@uggy]

Thanks brother!! I finally have a mic that’s good haha should be in full effect next week. And yeah I totally get that side of it

[@guitarazn90210]

Rugby is just an inherently dangerous sport. American football is facing similar issues and the players are wearing more armor. I think we're better off implementing Judo laws instead of this. Maybe players should wrap their hands around a body for a minimum amount of time (i.e. 2s) before permitted to "take down" their opponent. The timer wouldn't apply for waist down tackles.

[@aeasthouse316]

what about all rugby players to have handbags and high heals? I mean honestly. It's a contact sport for men. Just becoming a joke.

[@guitarazn90210]

​@@aeasthouse316 I'm not opposed to making the sport more accessible but this is like trying to make boxing "safer." It's an exercise in futility. The best practical solution is to simply punish head contacts more severely, perhaps reducing the points of the offending team. It sounds extreme but I think players will think twice before tackling.

[@aeasthouse316]

@@guitarazn90210 the game existed over a 100 years, yes some people got seriously injured, thats life. Are we going to stop construction work, many get injured that way? This world trying to cotton wool everything is just stupid. Everything has a risk. You can decide to partake or not. Why does anything has to change to make it so safe that there will be no injuries. Even locking everybody up in their houses has caused deaths and injuries. The solution, toughen up or go to the library. Let the game stay as it was for over a 100 years

[@DownUnderWarboss]

Don't worry, the NRL exists

[@jacobwinn2765]

Ever tried tackling a Pacific Islander around his tree trunk legs at full steam while he aims for the white kid and lifts his knees into the tackler? Worst injury in a game I ever saw. Kid was out cold and from what I remember, never played another minute of rugby. His parents wouldn't let him. Players are getting bigger and less technically proficient at tackling, particularly if it's now just got to be around the legs. Sometimes there is a tactical reason for tackling up higher, and for the locks out there about to tackle a half back or other smaller player, forget it. Rugby died a long time ago for me, and it's sadly dying for many others due to the rule changes.

[@panchopuskas1]

You can't have one law for the pros and one for the rest. I can't think of any other sport where this happens. So, if a kid shows form and wants to move up the ranks they have to change their game completely? Really? If you wanna change the game for the better just get rid of the ridiculous scrums and maybe the lineouts......what?......Oh, right....

[@Eclipse-tm5zq]

I think this will negatively affect Australian rugby more than any other nations. My reasoning behind this is union is Australia is struggling to compete with league at a junior/domestic level. Many kids won't be having much fun when they are punished for tackling high when in reality, the level at which they tackle in below the shoulders. If kids arent having fun at junior level union, because they struggle to tackle low, they will flock to league

[@uggy]

100%!

[@StevenBenjaminAuthor]

Seen a number of dangerous chop tackles (Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tongan Thor are serial offenders)... Also seen a number of HIA's as a result of players going low and head colliding with hips, thighs or knees (actually got a major concussion myself from a knee to the temple), so not sure why world rugby is ignoring the defender and placing most emphasis on the ball carrier. There's also confusing terminology in the rule book about what constitutes a good/legal tackle, and whats a dangerous tackle

[@calummackenzie1797]

Same thing. I always tackled low as a centre & the only time l got concussed (but didn't go off) was when a lock peeled off a line out & came charging towards our try line with a high knee action. I tackled him head on & low & got a knee to my head for my troubles. So why not ban all rugby players who have a high knee action running style. And then let's wear headgear (a la American Gridiron) & lots of padding. And then if that doesn't work, let's just play touch rugby🤪

[@dreammaker9642]

@@calummackenzie1797 next they going to ban tackling all together because too much head to knee contact… world rugby is slowly turning the game into touch rugby

[@BearsGamer]

Cracking video mate 👍 The rule change is terrible and probably ends up injuring more players than before 😔

[@uggy]

It just over complicates everything. No one’s ever aiming for the head 😅

[@joelhungerford8388]

Totally agree. This will potentially increase the amount of injuries.

[@ChrisBrown-or8ky]

Great points. My first thought is watching a new generation of players emulating Colin Slade's tackling-with-your-face method. Garunteed broken jaws. But, something needs to change. If I can annoy the shit out of ppl on the internet for a moment, I do believe the KOs of today are partly due to the larger bodies playing the slower, less aerobic game. If we took rugby back to the fast moving aerobic match in which players just cannot carry the muscle of today's game, it'll reduce the power, the contact, and the impact, in theory safer. Doubt it'll happen, but just a thought. Just found your channel. Great vids. Please keep it going

[@uggy]

Thanks for the kind words! Enjoy reading your comments 💪💪 determined to keep posting

[@fumie4996]

by fast moving aerobic match you mean league right?

[@PeterM8987]

You have described rugby league. 👏

[@Winnepausakee]

I agree with much of you critique of REQUIRED low tackles....MUch of what has changed the game since I played for 19 years in the 70's through 80's in US and England for 3 years. The worst "change" is the fact that the game is "professional". That single word has allowed for any number of "changes" under the heading of , "they're professionals; they know the risk" etc. Often applied in the US to those entering the service....Injuries to the head and neck have increased dramatically in that time. They now rival the American gridiron football stats. Note: about 5 years ago a fullback for Wales was "down" and commentator worried for him as he'd had " 3 concussions in the past 5 months". This is lunacy on the part of the player, his coaches, his team, and the UNION. But, its "professional". Yet, the "one set of Laws fits all" worldview makes no distinction between "pro's" and , if they're still called that, "amateurs". The two clubs I played for in Yorks, UK have combined and currently 1st team players make 100 lbs for a win. In any case, you cite that the whole game is a contest for the ball, as though the ball is equally available to all and it is unit, individual and team skills that make the difference. Of course, that is inaccurate. The Laws as recently as 6 years ago still read the ball in a tackle had to be placed or released IMMEDIATELY and every attempt by tackled player made to roll away. That has not been the case for at least a decade.....It was once the case if a tackled player lay on the ground cuddling the ball, he was rucked off it ( that itself was a travesty.....guys stomping on each other, when the merest of heel back of the ball into the downed player should have made him "offside" and thus if not penalized for no attempt to roll away, being in advance of the ball and taking part in play ie the ruck) Currently, there is no requirement, yet still a Law< that players must be bound in the ruck. Players fly OVER the ball into opposing players in what is known as "clean out". Laws were once enforced that one must be "bound" when in a ruck, (they aren't) and 2) one cannot bodily engage with another player who does not have the ball.....Players entering a ruck seem to be "fair targets" as far away as 5 yds. There is in this "contact" no attempt to play the ball, which used to be the main arbitration point of the referees.....if not seen as being the case by a player, player was cited for "dangerous play" or sent off for unsportsmanlike play. So, my point is that injuries may occur some place away from the "quatum" that produces a much more dangerous game.....the tackle is ONLY one place. The ball in loose play should available to the first to arrive, ie the fittest or most agile. NOt so currently, so players spread out the field and constitute defense which now must be "bashed" through ( "win the collision") with what? "Bigger players" who can only be defended by what? "Bigger players" and the game grinds down to bash upon bash and penalties....YAWN!!! Rather than attack of swift and skilled ball handlers ( when is the last time anyone saw a grub kick through to a player on one's own side?) And, the injuries mount while we hear from authorities that they take player safety most to heart. That is a lie OR they are stupid as they make no attempt to look at the game's devolution to a "bash" contest. They even enable it further by provision of 8 substitutes....give the bigger lads a break, or knowingly by this inclusion admitting there are liable to be injuries such that a player can't continue. How about collapsing of scrums? Used to be categorically "dangerous play". Paid pros can't keep the scrums "up" but Japanese women can.....Make sense? Try this: Every time a scrum collapses every player in each scrum and every member of the teams coaching staff is fined $1000 lbs. Try that out and see if results follow. The Law makers disgust me....they've all "drunk the Kool-aid" and ruined what was once a beautiful game.

[@uggy]

An enjoyable comment to read! Cheers mate

[@JordanMaD]

Good to see someone covering this! Imo this would be terrible for the game! 1 point would be how would a 6"4 fwd tackle a 5" 0 odd back safely. Come on common sense must prevail!

[@uggy]

Surely! Feel like we are the minority at the moment though

[@brendanholohan7237]

Hard agree. Proper suspensions and give up this bullshit about reducing time for conduct at a hearing and that tackle school rubbish. Also standing down refs for a few weeks when they shit the bed on stonewall red cards (ie. Barnes in the Ireland - France game) would solve a lot of problems. But it seems the administrators really would sooner wreck the game than actually just do their bloody job properly.

[@paulthomson2288]

Actually tackling at shoulder height was actively discouraged in the 70s because it was too easy to be brushed off. But greater player conditioning in the 80s made it an effective strategy until ultimately low tackles negated any chance for competition for the ball. This is not the worst decision ever. That was banning rucks.

[@TheBlackJersey]

Nothing but the truth, great mahi brother 🙌

[@uggy]

Thanks bro! Appreciate it. 👍 reckon it’s here to stay?

[@TheBlackJersey]

@@uggy if it’s here to stay then NFL analysis here I come 😂😂😂

[@murrayleckie4937]

I agree with all of your points. An even bigger problem with the game is the lack of real rugby people at the administration and governance levels around the world. In NZ board members are being chosen from an identity box ticking ideology rather than true Rugby background . This is where these types of decisions emanate from. I played at a reasonably high level for around 30 years ( played in 12,13,14 positions) and was concussed twice during that time . Both concussions were from tackles that were below the waist . I suffered a lot of dislocations and broken bones/teeth which give me some issues today but I have no issues with past concussions. I have no regrets about any of it and would do it all over again.

[@uggy]

Well said! I’m fairly sure you can tell from that head of mine I’ve had my fair share of rugby and injuries (still playing too) and I really feel like the perfect balance is playing experience and corporate qualified 👍

[@murrayleckie4937]

@@uggy Well the corporate imbalance is there but not only that but we have to have a lot of firsts(gender,race etc) which is weakening the game. I don't care what you are as long as you are the best option available.. By the way I have a strong corporate background as well so I completely understand and agree with your thoughts..

[@lukemcg1199]

Your videos are brilliant, well done

[@uggy]

Thanks mate really appreciate it

[@markrutherford6010]

You got this 100% right.We are getting too many red cards for wrong tackle height. 14 Vs 15 will never be fair even contest.The TMO is destroying our game. In horse racing they have handicap events.In rugby we have handicap 14 games.

[@therealjuralumin3416]

Concussions are obviously an issue, but other injuries can also seriously change lives. My dad played in the 80's for Sandhurst military college and suffered life changing injuries from a low tackle, he busted his knee and was forced to give up rugby forever, as well as being medically discharged from the army. To this day he has to wear a special brace and stocking on his leg, and is unable to run. This is obviously an extreme example, but it can happen, and I think if I had to choose between destroying my knee from a botched low tackle and getting a concussion, I'd go with the concussion.

[@robhuanout5443]

I also watch regular football and one game I saw an accidental shoulder to head contact. The ref gave a free kick to the recipient. Remember, this is a non-contact sport. In modern rugby that's a red for dangerous play, in a contact sport. When premier league football has more common sense refereeing than rugby, you know something is wrong on a fundamental level. And don't get me started on the excuses made for when a tackler makes a mistake and get's injured.

[@gwilliams4674]

I love Uggy's videos. Great insightful content and all while he's locked up for being a deadset legend!

[@UniQuEJoKerZ]

Couldn’t agree more with everything you had to say bro. Absolute joke and not looking forward to the future if this’ll be the future

[@uggy]

Glad there’s a few of us out there! I’ve seen so many people going against our views lately especially with the media push and I think it’s really easy to overlook the impact on other parts of the game

[@pauljamison3340]

That will be the end of the big backs, maybe a team of Dwarfs!!!! Touch only is just around the corner!!!!!

[@uggy]

😂😂

[@marksheehan8026]

Great vid .. Yes very obvious more injuries it's going to be unavoidable.. the game has gone down the hill badly the last 5 years , this will be a death knull..

[@Simonmoke71]

The worse thing is,theres enough start stopping in the game as it is,look how long it takes to set a scrum

[@mikhaildas]

they only time i got KO was because a knee crashing my right side of the face in a low tackle (the typical move when they try to stomp you, one knee on front and all their weight throwed upon the tackler in speed). This will cost more injuries not only to the defender, also the attacker cause you are basically asking to smash yourself on the attacker knees if he crouchs down. It can also incetivate more grabs/hugs instead of trying to tackle, wich dont tend to be pretty effective at high speeds specially if you have to take down a foward wich legs are three times your body. The whole timing and angle on how you try to manage to tackle changes too specially at high speed cause you limit the area where they can tackle you (making it easy to avoid it) . I really don´t get it.

[@tsifooty6662]

Eye opening stuff - thanks

[@markmorgan2893]

Totally agree with you Uggy. Really makes a mockery of the game. Hopefully common sense will prevail

[@buzzwhite_]

Sorry to be so late. Im hoping this law doesn't reach SA anytime soon, at least until I'm out of school, but the the younger guys are going to have to play with it anyway. Getting hurt is part of the game, sure it should be prevented when possible, but in a game like rugby that's impossible, if you don't want to get hurt dont play.

[@uggy]

Ahh Buzz you legend! I’m glad you agree. We all know what we’re signing up for hey. Hope you are well.

[@cspace1234nz]

This would be just the latest in a long line of law changes that have pretty much ruined the game. But for their great love of the game so many fans would have given up now, just that being pathologically optimistic they are hoping it will magically improve. It won't ! After 50 years of watching every All Blacks game I no longer bother watching the games. That for me started when they started dishing out cards left right and centre and I actually turned the TV off the moment SBW was sent off against the Lions some years ago and haven't watched a full game since. Not because it was SBW but that to me was the last straw and I see it's only gotten worse since then. I don't care whether it's justified or not, all I am saying is that they have ruined the game that I grew up with, played, coached and supported, it is a shadow of it's former self. Occasional highlights clips and some articles is as good as it gets for me these days, though having an incompetent coach destroying the once high standard of All Black excellence, and with it their confidence, it just seems to get worse and worse.

[@dreammaker9642]

World rugby doesn’t want head to head contact at all cost… so they’ve opted for knee to head contact… It doesn’t matter if your face is caved in by someone’s knee three times in a row… (heavy sarcasm warning) everybody knows the only way to get a rain injury is if two heads collide so it’s fine if it’s just one getting bashed… make it make sense

[@pipps1158]

The injuries are just going to transfer over to the tackling player.

[@PaulHolder]

I agree that this looks like a bad law change. I think they instead need to encourage players to carry more upright into contact. For that you would need to get rid of the choke tackle rule as most players are too scared of being held up to carry upright. No choke tackle means no extra scrums as well. There probably won't be that many extra offloads with the low tackle rule either as the defender who is no longer able to join in the tackle will probably just stand in the way to block a pass.

[@drewwilliams6888]

Nobody seems to mention the ball carrier, charging head first into the tackler. How about outlawing that part of the game first, before you start penalising tackling above the waist.

[@godfrey236]

Can you put the source of the "French Tackle Trial" in the description? I didn't find what you were showing in the medical commission conferences presentation files on WR website, and Is there a write up of this trial in a science journal?

[@uggy]

Done ✅ RFU linked it through their statement, and the links should be able to take you to what you’re looking for. Ross Tucker is the sports scientist behind the paper presented and is also world rugby’s lead consultant in that space.

[@samgreer8274]

Northern hemisphere have made the game soft.

[@crondawg101]

When are the governing bodies going to realize that there is a limit to how safe the game can be and accept some amount of danger?

[@christianmpassi3450]

I discovered rugby around 2006 and enjoyed watching it over football due to poor sportsmanship and scandals in the latter. I won't mind if rugby is reduced to the sevens version or if they invent a new game with perhaps 11 players.

[@xa-xii1316]

i thought it was just for those who don't play professionally. I thought that was bad enough.

[@shaunmadala613]

It’s going to cause more knee injuries and ankles.. and soon they will be playing touchies

[@montybrewster7]

I agree with all of this, plus they are starting at lower level & grass rootrs rugby. It's hard enough to attract new players as it is in this modern world with all its other distractions. How many new & part time players are going to stick with the game if they're increasingly getting sent off or injured with this crazy new law? Utter nonsense & in my opinion it will total kill the amateur game & ruin the pro game.

[@clucas101]

Organized Rugby will die, unfortunately. Fortunately though, 'normal' rugby led by grassroots players will live on.

[@truckcompany]

"Make everyone sign a disclaimer". Armchair lawyering.

[@Daywalker685]

This not only will create more injuries but make the game more boring to watch. We want to see some big hits ffs!!!

[@tsaki_titan]

England and all those other northern hemisphere sissies are just tired of being outmuscled and bullied by Southern Hemisphere teams

[@ditokhutsishvili2106]

same players charge had first in tackle

[@charlietewhata9531]

So true mate, fine the illegal tackles

[@notorious676]

Soon their going to say add shoulder pads and helmets to rugby because it’s not safe too many fairies shot calling 😂

[@commentarytalk1446]

Rugby League has mostly already solved this problem: They have it down to a "tee". Union has a lot of problems and I don't think they're all solvable without in the end turning more and more into League because League went there first.

[@galinor7]

So everyone off down the rugby......err league I mean.because that still has proper tackles.

[@uggy]

🤣🤣

[@ditokhutsishvili2106]

new rugby changes become garbage sport

[@Husky_]

😳

[@uggy]

😅

[@MRT-co1sd]

Rugby gone woke.

[@matthewalexander7574]

Great video

[@uggy]

Thanks mate!

[@sweetascuzz]

The IRB are ruining Rugby