Australia's Bell got rugby's first yellow card for a 'hip drop tackle'

AUSTRALIA PROP ANGUS Bell became the first rugby player to be yellow-carded for a hip-drop tackle since World Rugby officially outlawed the act.

The hip drop tackle was formally made illegal on 1 November, meaning the current international window is the first time referees have been asked to clamp down on it.

This all comes from World Rugby bringing together a working group that included South Africa assistant coach Felix Jones to examine hip drop tackles and knee drop tackles.

And on the first weekend of Nations Championship action this month, Wallabies front row Bell, formerly of Ulster, was sin-binned for a tackle on England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

Feyi-Waboso, who had made a sensational start to the game, suffered an ankle injury in the tackle and has now been ruled out of the remainder of England’s Nations Championship campaign.

Below is a wide view of the incident.

Feyi-Waboso was counter-attacking for England after they received a kick, with Bell making side-on contact to Feyi-Waboso’s upper body initially before dropping down lower to bring him to the ground.

Despite the proximity of referee Pierre Brousset to the tackle, there was no immediate call for foul play, with the game continuing for nearly a minute until the ball was kicked into touch.

Feyi-Waboso had got back to his feet with a clear limp, but with the ball out of play, England’s medical team came to assess him.

It was during this break in play, while Feyi-Waboso’s injury was attended to, that the match officials decided to look at Bell’s tackle. Television match official [TMO] Tual Trainini notified Brousset that they needed to launch a formal review.

Trainini showed several angles of the incident.

Brousset viewed the angles on the big screen in Twickenham.

The referee had assistants Nika Amashukeli and Jérémy Rozier alongside him, with the assistants offering their thoughts.

Trainini interjected only once, saying, “Pierre, you have this angle [the one below]. It’s a good angle also. Look at this.”

“Grab, swing, and fall,” added Trainini while the angle above played.

As Trainini spoke, Brousset could already be heard saying, “OK, we’ve got a decision.”

Brousset pulled out his yellow card.

“So, it’s a yellow card,” said Brousset. “Going for off-field review. Hip drop tackle, number one [Bell].”

Feyi-Waboso played on for the remaining eight minutes of the first half in London with strapping around his right ankle.

It was clear that he was feeling considerable discomfort, however, and he was replaced at half time.

TMO Trainini’s comments are pertinent to the definition of a hip drop tackle.

This is how World Rugby defines it:

“When a ball carrier…

• is grasped or tackled from the side or behind, and;
• the tackler swings round or through the ball carrier, and;
• drops their hips/body weight down on to the legs or lower limbs of the ball carrier as… they are brought to ground.”

World Rugby has also publicly confirmed the advice it has offered to match officials and disciplinary officers when it comes to deciding on the level of sanction for players who are deemed guilty of making hip drop tackles.

World Rugby says that when the tackler grasps and swings round or through the ball carrier “with minimal contact on lower limbs,” the sanction should be a penalty.

But when the tackler grasps and swings round or through the ball carrier with “higher level contact with lower limbs,” then yellow cards and red cards come into play.

World Rugby says the level of danger of each tackle can be decided upon using “all relevant circumstances,” including the following:

• Level of control
• Diving or having both feet off the ground
• Hips dropping onto ball carrier moving at speed
• Distinct or sudden swing and/or drop action on ball carrier
• Significance of landing on limb

So that’s the guidance that foul play review officer [FPRO] Matteo Liperini had when he set about deciding whether Bell’s yellow card should be upgraded to a red card.

It took Liperini five minutes to make the decision and relay it to referee Brousset, who called in Australia captain Harry Wilson to let him know that Bell’s yellow card would not be upgraded to red.

“Yellow card remaining yellow card because we’ve got indirect contact,” said Brousset.

His words were also relayed to fans in the stadium over the loudspeakers, while a graphic soon popped up on the TV coverage to explain that the degree of danger of his tackle was “not high.”

Bell’s frustration seemed to be clear, although Wallabies boss Les Kiss said post-match that the officials had made the correct call.

“It’s something we talked about, safety first,” said Kiss.

“I can’t really complain with that one. We’ve just got to be careful when you’re behind a player, and you drop.

“We’ve talked about it, and it’s probably the right call.” 

So this was the first sanctioning of a hip drop tackle since rugby’s lawbook was amended to include them under the definition of dangerous tackles.

World Rugby’s top referees met with the leading international coaches in London ahead of this Test window to discuss how the hip drop tackle would be adjudicated.

It’s understood that many coaches and players feel that this new law was sprung on them, and there has been little time to consider or train adjustments ahead of this window, particularly given that hip drop tackles have never been coached as a technique.

World Rugby has pointed out that hip drop tackles are rare, but that the injuries they can cause can be significant.

So not getting into these potential situations is now one more thing for tacklers to consider, with Bell’s yellow card serving as further warning.