Springbok Assistant Coach Felix Jones Shapes World Rugby Hip-Drop Tackle Law Change
- Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones served on a specialist World Rugby working group examining dangerous tackle techniques
- World Rugby approved a law amendment explicitly banning hip-drop tackles, with the change coming into effect on 1 November 2026
- The crackdown follows serious lower-limb injuries at the U20 World Championship, where two Australian players were hurt by similar tackles
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Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones has been central to a World Rugby law reform targeting hip-drop and knee-drop tackles, with new measures set to reshape how the game is officiated globally.
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Jones was appointed to a specialist tackle height working group following February's Shape of the Game meeting. He was joined on the panel by United Rugby Championship match official boss Tappe Henning, alongside coaches, players and medical experts from across the world.
The group reviewed game footage from both sevens and fifteens competitions and drew on research commissioned from Leeds Beckett University.
New laws target dangerous tackle techniques
According to Rugby365, the World Rugby Executive Board has approved both a law amendment and a Law Application Guideline confirming that hip-drop and knee-drop tackles will be penalised. The knee-drop guideline came into effect on 5 October 2026, while the hip-drop amendment takes effect on 1 November 2026.
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A hip-drop tackle occurs when a defender grabs or wraps a ball carrier from the side or behind, swivels their hips, unweights their feet, and drops their bodyweight onto the ball carrier's lower legs or ankles. This technique will now be explicitly added to Law 9.13 and will carry at least a penalty.
The knee-drop tackle, where a player makes contact while already on the ground, is covered under existing laws and the new guideline reinforces that interpretation for officials.
World Rugby noted that hip-drop tackles, while relatively uncommon, have caused significant leg injuries. Knee-drop tackles were separately identified as an increasing trend across the game.
U20 injuries underlined the urgency
The push for reform gained momentum after the U20 World Championship, where Australian fullback Treyvon Pritchard sustained a fractured fibula and syndesmosis injury following a hip-drop-like tackle in the match against Wales. That came after fellow Australian Chayse Geros was similarly injured against Spain, making it the second such incident involving the same national team during the same tournament.
The tackle height reforms are part of a broader player welfare initiative. In June 2026, World Rugby approved a lower legal tackle height for community rugby, permitting unions to adopt either waist or base-of-sternum height following trials that analysed more than 150,000 tackles. The hip-drop and knee-drop investigation stemmed from the same programme.
Jake White emerges as favourite to coach Fiji
Briefly News previously reported that Fiji Rugby Union received 31 applications for their vacant head coach position and has begun shortlisting candidates
Jake White, who has been working as a rugby consultant since leaving the Bulls, is reportedly among the leading candidates
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Source: Briefly News
