World Rugby has moved quickly to crack down on dangerous tackles towards the lower limbs, banning the "hip drop" and "knee drop" tackles.
The "knee drop" tackle law will take effect immediately, with the "hip drop" law change applying from November 1.
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The "hip drop" tackle, banned across several sports, involves the tackler using their body weight to pull a player to the ground and drop onto a ball carrier's legs from behind.
This type of tackle has already caused significant damage to some of Australian Rugby's brightest stars, amending Law 9.13 to include it as part of dangerous play.
Australia U20 star Treyvon Pritchard is currently recovering from a long-term injury after facing the full brunt of the tackle during the U20 World Championship.
Max Jorgensen is another who has missed multiple months as a result of the tackle last year, with the law coming into play in time for the Nations Championship.
World Rugby has moved quickly to outlaw the tackle, which was broached at February's Shape of the Game meeting.
Meanwhile, the "knee drop" is deemed to be when a player drops to one or both knees before making a tackle.
It will be policed as a player leaving their feet to get involved in the tackle, already a penalty, coming into effect instantly ahead of the Bledisloe Cup series.
“We’re grateful to unions for raising the issue of these types of tackle with us. My thanks go to the working group and wider World Rugby team for the speed and breadth of their research and analysis. These changes show the commitment across the globe to player welfare in rugby in action," World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said.
“Once we looked at the evidence, it was clear the hip drop tackles whilst rare, could cause significant leg injuries. It was also clear that knee drop tackles were on the rise.
“Protecting player welfare is at the heart of everything that World Rugby does and once we’d reviewed the analysis we’ve acted quickly to ensure that dangerous tackles of this nature are removed from the game, starting this weekend.”
"Rugby Australia welcomes the move by World Rugby to outlaw hip drop and knee drop tackles. Both techniques pose unacceptable risks to player safety and World Rugby has acted appropriately to classify them as foul play," RA Director of High Performance Peter Horne added.
“This announcement further reaffirms rugby’s commitment to player welfare and I have no doubt will be well received by teams and players in Australia and around the world.”
