In 2024, World Rugby controversially outlawed the escort tactics teams deployed to protect catchers, a tweak that Springboks coaches believe has only benefitted the game.<\/b><\/p>\n
The removal of \u2018escorts\u2019 or the \u2018glove\u2019 protecting players\u2019 catching high-balls has been hotly debated recently, with Gloucester fly-half Ross Byrne hitting out at the change, as he believes that it will lead to locks becoming wingers.<\/p>\n
England and Ireland moans<\/p>\n
England head coach Steve Borthwick also expressed his distaste for the change in November of 2024, \u201cI don\u2019t think any of us want rugby union to turn into Aussie rules.\u201d He also felt as though it would lead to \u201cmore kicking and more scrums\u201d.<\/p>\n
More recently, Ireland and Munster forward Tadhg Beirne also hit out at the tweak<\/a>, as he feels that it is hampering the game and making it harder to attack. His club assistant coach, Mike Prendergast, echoed similar concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was probably something that, when the rules were being changed, that they probably felt that it would help the attacking aspect of it. For me, it\u2019s gone the other way around,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are so many stoppages through it, and there are knock-ons in the air. That\u2019s a reality.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re looking at is teams are looking to tap the ball back. Knock-ons can happen there, or it becomes a bit of a s**t fight for that ball, I suppose, putting it in best terms.\u201d<\/p>\n South Africa<\/a> certainly benefited from the tactic before it was altered by World Rugby<\/a>, winning the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and 2023 off the back of kick-heavy tactics. However, they have adapted and, according to Eddie Jones, are \u201850% better than any other team\u2019 under the high ball.<\/a><\/p>\n One of the major concerns about the change is that it would promote more kicking, a fact that Jones highlighted, but according to the Springboks coaches, it is still a positive, as it has created a fairer contest for the ball.<\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus: \u2018It looks like everybody\u2019s taking global calendar seriously now\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The World Rugby charter<\/p>\n Head coach Rassie Erasmus<\/a> and his assistants dissected the change and its impact on the game in the latest episode of Rassie+<\/a>, titled the Shape of the Game.<\/p>\n Erasmus hosted the podcast that featured his assistants Mzwandile Stick, Felix Jones and Daan Human, as well as strength and conditioning coach Andy Edwards and SA Rugby\u2019s national laws advisor and former Test referee Jaco Peyper.<\/p>\n The aerial contest skills are Stick\u2019s area of expertise, with the former Blitzbok star being a self-taught coach on the skillset, and Erasmus turned to him to detail why he believes that the change is a positive one for the game.<\/p>\n The 41-year-old said that he had seen far fewer major injuries occurring from the contest in the air because the players who provided the \u2018escort\u2019 or \u2018glove\u2019 often got in the way of those competing in the air.<\/p>\n Throughout the episode, Stick and the Bok coaches repeatedly referenced the World Rugby playing charter, which reads: \u201cThe wide variation of skills and physical requirements needed for the game mean that there is an opportunity for individuals of every shape, size and ability to participate\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cWhat this charter does is to give the game a checklist against which the mode of play and behaviour can be assessed. The objective is to ensure that rugby maintains its unique character both on and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n Stick began: \u201cWith all the law changes around the high balls, I haven\u2019t seen any dangerous contests in the past two years. I probably watched thousands and thousands of kicks when I analyse games, and usually the people who were bringing the danger into the contest were the third parties.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people around the contest area where the ball was landing, that\u2019s where it was dangerous. I have to compliment World Rugby because the law change has cleaned up everything around there. We coach players to always have eyes on the ball, you know, your technique and what you need to do when you get closer to the space: when to shorten your steps, when to attack the ball in the air and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n Springboks: Rassie Erasmus\u2019 verdict on Nations Championship clash with England side that is \u2018certainly hitting their straps\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Player safety and contest<\/p>\n The crux of the argument from the Springboks coaches for the change being a positive isn\u2019t just around the safety of the players, but that it creates a contest once again, as previously, the receiving team would create a scenario where their teammate would be catching the ball uncontested.<\/p>\n That, Erasmus believes, is \u2018against the spirit of the game\u2019 as set out in World Rugby\u2019s charter, which added: \u201cThe contest for possession of the ball is one of rugby\u2019s key features. These contests occur throughout the game and in a number of different forms, in contact, in open play, when play is re-started at scrums, lineouts, kick-offs and restart kicks.\u201d<\/p>\n Erasmus added: \u201cSo the first thing is when that ball is kicked, it\u2019s nobody\u2019s ball. He\u2019s got a fair chance, I\u2019ve got a fair chance. That\u2019s the contest, and no one can interfere anymore [under the new laws].\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c100%. So we go back again to the principles of what World Rugby tries to promote,\u201d Stick replied as the coaches set up an illustration of an aerial contest with Erasmus chasing a kick and Daan Human acting as the receiving team with Stick.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want the contest. So now the contest is between the two players; the ball belongs to no one. So you guys are going to contest for it. That\u2019s number one. So in the past, this was just my feeling as a coach who works with the players and the high balls, the problem in the past was the people who were interfering in that space, on Daan\u2019s side.<\/p>\n \u201cNow you [Erasmus] focus on getting to the contest in the air, and all of a sudden, I\u2019m trying to protect Daan and block you. We used to call it escorts, but we don\u2019t use it anymore. Teams would park players in front of the catcher, and in doing so, took away from World Rugby\u2019s principles of a contest. The moment there are blockers, they are unfairly taking away the contest from the other team.<\/p>\n \u201cSo as a chaser, you don\u2019t see the movement that is happening on the ground and at the last moment, they block the chase and you are already jumping\u2026 that\u2019s where you would see a lot of players landing with their heads and shoulders into the ground but I have to be honest, in the past two years it\u2019s been cleaned up, you haven\u2019t seen any of those incidents.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to promote the contest to you because it\u2019s in line with the principles of World Rugby. It\u2019s the same in the lineouts; you are not allowed as a lifter to double bank because you want the contest.\u201d<\/p>\n