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Taller players need to put in extra effort when tackling

Wallabies flanker Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (Photo by Dan Mullan / Getty Images)

Wallabies flanker David Pocock believes taller players are more likely to be penalised for high tackles under the tight regime at the Rugby World Cup.

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Yellow cards and possible suspensions for high shots loom as a critical element that all the big teams will want to avoid ahead of next week’s quarter-finals.

Australia and New Zealand both had two players yellow-carded during their most recent wins over tier two opposition.

It prompted All Blacks coach Steve Hansen to suggest that it is nearly impossible to avoid high contact in certain situations when an attacking player is falling or running low to the ground.

Both Australian offenders against Uruguay – lock Adam Coleman and flanker Lukhan Salakaia-Loto – stand at around the two-metre mark.

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They towered over the opponents they were attempting to tackle, something the comparatively compact Pocock could sympathise with.

“As a short bloke on the field, my target zone’s usually a lot lower than the head and shoulders of some of the guys around here,” he said.

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“It’s one of those things but World Rugby were very clear before the tournament about contact to the head.

“All you want is consistency and players to know what is and isn’t ok.”

Concern exists that a big knockout game in Japan could swing on an unfortunate high contact and an overzealous match official.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3ROCaVAwGk/

There is also the uncertainty over what might happen if a defender makes contact with the head of a low-slung player who is driving for the tryline.

Attempting to simply prevent a try could result in a costly card and even a penalty try.

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Pocock described that scenario as a “grey area” and had yet to see a defender pinged for such an infraction.

The 31-year-old came off the bench against Uruguay but is considered a strong chance to start in this Friday’s match against Georgia in Shizuoka and potentially take the captaincy from a rested Michael Hooper.

After wins over Fiji and Uruguay and a loss to Wales, Pocock said it was important they poured all their focus this week into finishing pool play in style rather than start planning for the knockout phase, which they still aren’t guaranteed of contesting.

“There’s no point really looking beyond Georgia,” Pocock said.

“You’ve got to put in a good performance, give them the respect they deserve, prepare well and then we’ll see what happens after that.”

In Japan? Not sure about some of the local customs? We’ve got you covered:

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JW 3 hours ago
'I feel for the players': Jamie Joseph's reflection on falling short again

Some great leadership quality from Big Jim, he facilitated for large parts then put the responsibility on himself at the end drive the team forward in the last desperate minutes. He also filled in for Withy extremely well, adding real strength to the maul.


The Force have been playing very well this year indeed, and their stars did make a couple of key players, the main factor though is definitely what I reported in the previous article “

Gotta say I’m really enjoying the Highlanders desperation in the last 10 minutes of games, maybe it’s just because theyre having to throw the kitchen sink at it again. Another massive effort to hold the opposition out just like in the Blues game. I’m sure the coach’s will be wanting a little more composure though as the play seems to far more hap hazard (really just the type of footy I like watching) than the picture they bring at the beggining of games.

Again though they don’t have the refs to thank for anything, being down a man twenty more minutes than they should have been. Most importantly they were without one of they best attackers (not counting Tangitau’s early change) for the final push, with Nareki’s bin.

Again, I can see where this team is trying to go, I hope they can get their this year as they certainly have the game to be a top four team if they click. They are munch of misfits when you look at it objectively though, they probably have the worst cohesion score of any SRP team. A few more wins, maybe a come from behind upset may be the best theey can hope to acheive this year.

“. Like Jim I thought the defence stood up strongly for large parts, but they may just have some structural issues, where it’s just not paying off. They had Lawaqa on the wing all day, allowed the Force to make a dozen linebreaks, why? Both there attack and defence look a bit too fancy for me, why? Common Joseph, the youngest team with the least cohesion/most new guys, it look overly complicated.


I hope it clicks. Manson in particular looked to be trying far too hard when he came on, what’s been said in his ear? Stick to you lane son and don’t make any mistakes, don’t lose the game for your team. Should be a comfortable win next week against Drua if they keep there heads up and come back stronger. Lasaqa might be best to come off the bench, would keep Jim at 12 but I’d like Tele’a to come back to the side, though TUJ hasn’t been bad and style might suit Drua more. Hopefully Renton or someone with some size is at 8 or 6, Lasaqa appears to be more an 8 actually, similar to Sititi and I wouldn’t mind if he was groomed behind him and Sotutu. Lennox I thought could make a good halfback but isn’t ready, I’d hope Arscott, Fakatava, or Pledger could return to the side. Other than Drua theyve got Cheifs twice, though the home game is the last of the round/season so potentially a gimme if the Chiefs repeat previous years tactics. The Crusaders and Moana at home are also very doable. Those four wins could see them crash into the top 6 still.

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