How high are my players allowed to tackle?

Youth and high school rugby count as community rugby, and community rugby uses a lower tackle line than elite rugby.

• 2026 Laws of the Game (Law 14): tacklers must tackle below the high-tackle sanction line. In community rugby that line is the waist or the base of the sternum, whichever the union sets. In elite rugby it is the shoulder line. Breaking this law is a penalty, and a dangerous tackle can also be a yellow or red card under the foul play law.
• In the USA: USA Rugby adopted World Rugby's lower-tackle-height variation for community rugby from the 2024-25 membership year (September 1, 2024). It set the legal tackle height below the sternum. World Rugby made the lower community tackle height full law for seasons starting after July 1, 2026.
• Ball carriers also have a responsibility to enter contact safely.

World Rugby's research found that concussion risk is more than four times higher when the tackler's head is above the ball carrier's sternum.