Eddie Jones: Tackle laws will make players drive safely
When it comes to analogies and rugby, there are few with quite as much wit as Eddie Jones.
He has been in charge of England for over a year now and in that time he has mused about cricket’s famous “Bodyline” Ashes series, slow roasting beef and, most recently, Donald Trump.
So when it comes to World Rugby’s new tackle laws which have been in place since the start of January, it is no surprise he has another perfect analogy up his sleeve.
“Now, like anything in life, you put speed cameras in and what happens? You get hundreds and thousands of people getting fined,” says Jones.
“Speed camera goes in — 12 months later those fines have decreased. It is the same with the tackle situation at the moment.
“Over the next three months, or how many months it is going to be, there is going to be a proliferation of yellow and red cards until players learn to drive safely.”
World Rugby’s new laws regarding the high tackle should — as Jones put it — go a long way to making players “drive safely”.
The changes have brought in tighter sanctions regarding the high tackle, with a “reckless” infringement earning the minimum of a yellow card and the maximum of a red, while “accidental” contact with the head will incur at least a penalty.
In many ways, very little has changed in the sense players have never been allowed to tackle high. However, the increased strength of the punishment for breaking this law has Jones and other coaches worried as players learn to adapt.
“I am sure as players and supporters, we don’t want Six Nations games turning on red cards,” says Wales interim coach Rob Howley.
“And it is the empathy of those contacts, and whether it is reckless or not, that will be a key determinant of whether it is yellow or red.
“No doubt when laws change there is going to be transition period of time. How long that transition period of time will be? I suppose it is down to the diligence of the referees and the empathy of which the referees are going to view that contact or tackle.
“But I wouldn’t like to think that reds cards are going to be a determinant of who is going to win the Six Nations championship.”
However, while coaches can talk all they want about the impact of the new laws, in reality it is the players who will be on the frontline seeing the real effect.
But for many, like Ireland captain Rory Best, it is a case of business as usual.
“I think with the tackle, certainly when I’ve played you have never been able to tackle somebody round the head,” he says.
“Look it is just a new thing, they are putting more emphasis on it. So we will take a long hard look at it and make sure that within the laws of the game we can implement our defence.
“And we will make sure our defence is as watertight as possible without conceding, obviously penalties, but yellow cards and in some cases red cards.”
It is that fear of the repercussions that mean players must be wary going into this year’s Six Nations.
Indeed, Wales had referee Nigel Owens down at their training camp last weekend to oversee a match and conduct a presentation to the squad afterwards.
Likewise England have reportedly consulted with fellow official Wayne Barnes, while their captain Dylan Hartley, who in December was banned for six weeks after catching Leinster flanker Sean O’Brien with a swinging arm, has been tweaking his tackle technique.
“I have been working hard with Gussy (England defence coach Paul Gustard) with that,” says Hartley.
“We always want to tackle low, but there are times in a game when you are the second man that low isn’t an option.
“It is about, for me, my arms — bringing them tighter to my body and following through with those. As players we are seeing a lot more incidents in games now, a lot more cards and penalties, and we have to adapt.”
Given what we know about the law changes, Hartley is right and players will need to adapt.
The only question is, how fast can they do it?
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