Rugby World Cup fever is well upon us, with record attendances, the odd upset (South Africa v Japan) and the old rivalries (England v Wales) adding to the excitement. Needless to say, the debate surrounding players' safety has reignited (if it ever went away), in particular in relation to the potential for head injuries. With the eyes on the world of rugby, a serious head injury would have very negative implications.

World Rugby's Law 10.4 is designed to protect the players from dangerous play and misconduct. It sets out various prohibitive scenarios, such as punching or striking, stamping, kicking and tripping or acts contrary to good sportsmanship (an example of which is Argentina's Mariano Galarza making contact with New Zealand's Brodie Retallick's eye area).

The law relating to tackling is set out on Law 10.4(e), which provides:

  • A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously;
  • A player must not tackle (or try to tackle) and opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.  A tackle around the opponent's neck or head is dangerous play;
  • A "stiff-arm tackle" is dangerous play.  A player makes a stiff arm tackle when using a stiff arm to strike an opponent;
  • Playing a player without the ball is dangerous play;
  • A player must not tackle and opponent whose feet are off the ground.

Law 10.4(e) is intended to ensure that the tackled player's safety is considered at all times. The tackled player should not be put into a vulnerable position where there is a risk of serious injury, for example by the tackled player's head making contact with the ground.

The Referees (with assistance from the Television Match Official, who has the benefit of Hawk-Eye technology) aim to ensure that no acts of foul play are committed during the course of the match. The Citing Commissioner (an official from a neutral country not connected with the match) has up to 36 hours following the conclusion of the match to cite a player for an act of foul play which, in the Citing Commissioner's opinion, warranted the player being ordered off.

If a player is cited, a disciplinary hearing is convened at short notice before a Judicial Officer to determine whether an act of foul play has been committed.  An act of foul play can be committed even if the player did not intend to carry out a dangerous tackle. Once the Judicial Officer has decided whether an act of foul play was committed, he will then decide what sanction would be appropriate by considering an assessment of seriousness of the foul play together with any aggravating or mitigating factors.

Rugby World Cup is clearly intent on policing Rule 10.4 to ensure the safety of the players. The sanctions for acts of foul play can be extremely onerous on the players, the maximum being a 52-week suspension for the most serious of cases. In Garlaza's case, his 9-week suspension has resulted in him being unable to play for the rest of the Rugby World Cup.

The recent BBC Panorama programme suggested that the head injury/concussion problem in rugby may be systemic and require the de-powering of the sport to reduce the impact of lawful collisions. If this is correct, the strict penalties for foul play will not be sufficient to deal with the issue.

Ellen Gallagher represented Valentin Ursache of Romania in the Rugby World Cup disciplinary hearing of a citing pursuant to Law 10.4(e).

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