Illegal Tackles

The High Tackle

In rugby, any tackle made above the shoulders of an opponent is illegal. They are called high tackles.

This tackle is often made by inexperienced and/or lazy players. The tackler fails to get low enough on their opponent to wrap around the legs. Instead, they make it to the ball carrier's shoulders or above, and jerk them to the ground that way.

This is very dangerous for two reasons...

1. It can break somebody's neck
2. It can get you a yellow card (thrown out of a rugby match for 15 minutes)

It's bad news, don't do it. If you find yourself holding on to a prospective tacklee's neck, either let go immediately and reset your body position to a strong, low one, or try to slide down them to below their shoulders.

The Spear Tackle

This tackle was previously mentioned. I consider it to be a lazy, dangerous dump tackle.

The spear tackle is made when a tackler pops up a ball carrier while taking them down, but instead of putting the player on their back, they slam them down on their neck or head.

This is very dangerous for two reasons...

1. It is a manslaughter charge waiting to happen
2. It can get you a red card (permanently thrown out of a rugby game)

I've only seen a player be spear tackled once, and it was on TV during a professional Irish rugby match. I was with my rugby team, and we were all shocked. Needless to say, this type of tackle looks really bad and makes you seem like a worse person than you probably actually are.

Truth be told, you must be a wonderful person for visiting my humble Web site.

Advice

"They [illegal tackles] are dangerous because not only can they harm that player, but it also causes a penalty against your team. It's a detriment to your team as well."

-- Deanna Schneider, player for the 2007-2008 UF Women's Rugby Team that won South Championship and went to Nationals.