'Ban coaches to help prevent head-on-head tackles'

Yahoo

29-03-2025

Rugby union should consider banning head coaches from matches if their players are repeatedly involved in head-on-head tackles, says former England women's boss Simon Middleton.
In the Women's Six Nations opening round, France centre Gabrielle Vernier was sent off for a head-on-head hit in their win over Ireland, followed by Wales' Georgia Evans receiving a second yellow card for a similar tackle in their defeat by Scotland.
In this year's men's Six Nations, Ireland centre Garry Ringrose received a red card for a head-on-head tackle on Wales' Ben Thomas.
Middleton - England head coach from 2015 to 2023 - suggests that three illegal head-on-head tackles in a game should result in a one-match touchline ban for that team's head coach.
"You want to make it impactful and resonate," Middleton told BBC Sport.
"If I am a defence coach and I know the action of my player is going to impact the availability of the head coach then I am probably going to be more diligent and aware of the consequences of what I am coaching.
"As a head coach you are charged with overseeing your coaching group so ultimately the buck stops with the head coach.
"I do think reducing head contact in rugby is moving in the right direction, but there has been a notable change in terms of the nature of incidents now being more head-on-head than shoulder-to-head."
Middleton coached the Red Roses to the World Cup final in 2022, where his side lost to New Zealand after playing the majority of the game with 14 players following a high, head-on-head tackle by wing Lydia Thompson.
The 59-year-old says more detail around tackle height from his coaching team could have prevented the red card.
"We paid a huge price for it in the World Cup and rightly so as that was the correct decision and we have to live with that," he said.
"I look back on the build-up to the World Cup and think 'what was our part in that?' We clearly played a part.
"We have to be accountable as it is never just about the players, it is about why the player has actioned in that way. There are some things you can't control but most of the actions are a product of what they are coached."
What next for English rugby as Sweeney survives vote?
Women's Six Nations: Wales v England match preview, coverage & key stats
Women's Six Nations: Fixtures, results, stats & BBC coverage
After leaving England's coaching team in 2023, Middleton took up a role with Japan's women's team as their high-performance advisor.
He says head coach Lesley McKenzie plays a "safe and entertaining" brand of rugby, which could be taught across the sport.
Last year more than 300 former football, rugby league and rugby union players in the United Kingdom took legal action over brain injuries they claim to have sustained during their playing careers.
McKenzie, who also sits on World Rugby's women's high-performance rugby committee, coaches a double tackle where one player chops the opponents' legs and the other targets the ball to prevent offloads.
"Lesley is obsessed with tackle technique, body management and functional movement in the contact area," Middleton adds.
"Physically there is a disparity with most sides, so Japan have to be technically outstanding with what they do.
"I can't remember, in the two years I've been with them, a red or yellow card for any high shots, and penalties for head contacts there has been maybe been a handful.
"There is a huge investment and spotlight on that area."
Middleton believes that a by-product of coaches being more diligent with tackle technique is that the game becomes more entertaining to watch because of fewer stoppages to review high tackles.
The argument that tackling lower will mean teams can break defences more easily through offloading is also something he disagrees with.
"You can still tackle on the ball and safely, I don't subscribe to the argument you can't risk tackling on the ball," he added.
"Most offloading games are not negated by teams tackling on the ball but by tackling really low and aggressively.
"That takes time and space away and puts their decision-making under pressure. That is more impactful."
England's 'superstars' return for Cardiff challenge
Listen: Sport's Strangest Crimes - Bloodgate
Listen to the latest Rugby Union Weekly podcast