A spear tackle is an illegal
tackle in
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
,
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
and
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
in which a player lifts another player into the air and drops them so that they land on their back, head or neck. Spear tackles have caused serious injury including spinal damage, dislocations, broken bones in the shoulder or neck, and death. Due to the dangers, players executing a spear tackle in these sports are punished severely.
Rugby union
The term "spear tackle" has been in use since at least 1995.
World Rugby
World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...
(previously called the IRB) has ruled that a dangerous tackle of this type, sometimes also called a 'tip tackle', should be punished with a straight
red card
A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction.
Red card may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers
* Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...
. An IRB memorandum on dangerous tackles from 8 June 2009 states: "At a subsequent IRB High Performance Referee Seminar at Lensbury referees were advised that for these types of tackles they were to start at red card as a sanction and work backwards."
The IRB amended the law (Law 10.4(j)), in December 2010.
[ ] In the previous version of the law, the tackled player's head or shoulders had to hit the ground first for a referee to penalise them. The revised law removes the possibility of a spearing tackle not being penalised if the tackled player breaks their fall with their arms.
Rugby league
The
National Rugby League (NRL) competition in Australia awards a
penalty for players being lifted beyond the horizontal. A spear tackle where their body is in a vertical position, with their head facing the ground usually results in a send-off. It is often termed a "dangerous throw". Generally, these tackles are also put "on report" meaning that in the coming week the judiciary is forced to review the incident and pursue the matter further if deemed appropriate, although particularly bad examples may be punished by sending the player off, reducing his team to one less player on the field. This term is used throughout the northern and southern hemispheres.
Australian rules football
In the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
(AFL), it is a reportable offence, and players found guilty face the
tribunal
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...
and possible suspension with at least a two match ban.
See also
*
Dump tackle - similar to a spear tackle
*
Grapple tackle - another controversial tackling technique
*
High tackle
A high tackle is an illegal Tackle (football move), tackling move in rugby football. A high tackle occurs when a player tackles or attempts to tackle an opponent whereby their arm makes contact with the ball carrier’s chest. The move is dangerous ...
*
Tackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling are to dispossess an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend.
The word i ...
*
Glossary of rugby league terms
*
Glossary of rugby union terms
References
{{Australian rules football terminology
Australian rules football terminology
Rugby league terminology
Rugby union terminology
Banned sports tactics