World Rugby is planning to run trials on red cards and examine tackle height in the elite game as part of moves to improve the sport's safety and appeal. It is also looking at ways to speed up the game as part of a new five-stage plan unveiled on Tuesday. The governing body says it is focused on "enhancing ball in flow, reducing stoppages and increasing welfare". World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said the measures would "excite the next generation of fans and players". "Change is in rugby's DNA," he added. "That means being bold, embracing change by dialling up the entertainment value, making our stars more accessible and simplifying terminology and language used to explain rugby to those who are yet to fall in love with it."

http://www.world.rugby/news/916218/world-rugby-reveals-phased-plan-to-enhance-rugbys-global-appeal" rel="nofollow - World Rugby press release

First phase: Law Application Guidelines reinforcing existing law From 19 March, there will be an expectation of strict application of current law by referees globally via the following Law Application Guidelines, focusing on speeding up play: Law 15.17: Players will be expected to use the ball more quickly when the ball has been secured at a ruck/breakdown. Referees will be asked to call “use it” earlier, which will begin the five second count to play the ball away. Law 19.10: Hookers will be expected to maintain a full brake foot to aid scrum stability and safety during the engagement sequence. Any adjustment must maintain the act of the brake. Law 6.29: Strict reinforcement of the 2022 law trial relating to water carriers entering the field of play. Second phase: Law amendment recommendations for global adoption   A package of law amendments will be considered by the World Rugby Council at its 9 May meeting. Each is aimed at enhancing game continuity: Recommendation to make adjustments to Law 10 in relation to players being put onside when there are kicks in open play, as per the current Super Rugby Pacific trial which aims to reduce kick tennis. Removal of the scrum option from a free-kick at a scrum, reducing dead time. Outlawing the practice of the ‘croc roll’, reinforcing player welfare focus Third phase: Closed law trials Unions and competition owners will be encouraged to implement a package of closed law trials which can be adopted at domestic or cross-border level, aimed at enhancing game continuity: Expansion of the shot clock for scrum and lineouts and reduced kicking time. Ability to mark the ball inside the 22m line from a restart, promoting attacking options. The ball must be played after the maul has been stopped once, not twice. Protection of the nine at the base of the scrum, ruck and at the maul following successful trials in Major League Rugby in the USA and in elite and community competitions in New Zealand. Play on for lineout not straight if the throw in is uncontested. Fouth phase: Specialist working groups Specialist working groups will be established to further explore aspects identified by the Shape of the Game forum for further consideration. Recommendations will be made to Council.   On- and off-field sanctions: Comprehensive review of the sport’s disciplinary and sanctioning processes with the objective of streamlining, increasing simplicity, consistency and fan understanding. A key consideration will be the potential to combine stronger off-field sanctions for foul play with a global red card trial where a carded player is removed for the duration of the match but may be replaced by another player after 20 minutes. The final proposal will go to World Rugby’s Council in May. Tackle/Ruck/Breakdown: A major review of safety and spectacle issues as they relate to the breakdown, e.g. the impact of contesting the ball on the floor, jackal as opposed to an upright driving game. Television Match Official (TMO) protocol: Determine the optimal remit for the TMO protocol, while setting new minimum standards for technology providers. Replacements: Examine the latest research on the impact of fatigue and the number and timing of replacements in the elite game to determine options that might create more space on the field while improving injury rates. Fan experience: Build rugby’s attention share via a fan-focused view of how the game is marketed, a consistent approach to presentation of the sport across all media environments and a focus on the moments in the game that really engage fans. This will include a thorough review of the language and terminology that is used within the game. Tackle height: Consider the results of the community tackle height trials across 11 unions and consider appropriateness for elite rugby. Fifth phase: Examine impact of specific aspects of the game in new Rugby Labs New Rugby Labs, which enable World Rugby to test out new aspects of law in a controlled environment evaluated by data and player feedback, will be utilised to examine the impact of aspects of the game that either have an impact on speed or safety. These are likely to include the scrum engagement sequence and the tackle/ruck area. Next steps New Law Application Guidelines will come into effect from 19 March globally. The World Rugby Council will consider a package of Shape of the Game forum recommendations at its next meeting on 9 May. Some measures will take longer consideration and will be introduced in line with the defined moratorium windows for the men’s, women’s and sevens formats.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cvgxdgd1yyeo" rel="nofollow - FFR expresses 'firm opposition' to 20-minute red card

The French Rugby Federation, National Rugby League and Provale have expressed "firm opposition" to the proposed 20-minute red card, saying it is an "unacceptable step backwards" by World Rugby. In 2024, the Rugby Championship and World Rugby's Under-20 Championship in South Africa trialled the new law for the first time, external, meaning a team is able to replace a red-carded player after 20 minutes in the sin-bin. This month World Ruby announced "successful initial trials", external were passed, leading to support for further elite-game trialling. In a joint statement, the three French governing bodies say the "data collected remains insufficient" to go through with the proposal. "Statistics provided by the FFR [French Rugby Federation] to World Rugby show that a red card does not systematically mean defeat for the penalised team," the statement said. "Indeed, the analysis based on 480 Top 14 matches and Tier 1 international matches shows that only 60% of the teams receiving a red card lost at the end of the match." ... The statement adds that the current red card is "a crucial tool" to deter "unsportsmanlike behaviour", without it the sport faces an "unacceptable step backwards on the measures put in place over the last few years to reduce head impacts". Furthermore, the law would "encourage more aggressive play", which would negatively impact "the image of the game". The last men's and women's Rugby World Cup finals ended with one team having 14 players on the field for the majority of the game. On the decision to trail the 20-minute red card, World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said in May that rugby's disciplinary process needed "streamlining to be simpler for players and fans to understand". "This is a trial, and it is important to remember that the ability to replace a red-carded player after 20 minutes is coupled with sanctions that are strong, clear and will not be mitigated down," Beaumont added. The FFR says it will speak out against the law's entry at the meeting of the World Rugby Council on 14 November. If approved, World Rugby will work with member unions, competition owners and key stakeholders to finalise the timeline and processes for trial adoption, with implementation from 1 January.

This is just to appease Australia.

Sorry what do you mean by this statement 

Rugby Australia is dying.

Rugby league is more popular in Australia.

RA are continually lobbying for union to be more like league.

I see this as part of watering down of correct high tackle laws to satisfy Australian fans more used to league.

Those players in my opinion should remain from the field of play and not be replaced after 20 minutes 

The only reason this is being considered is because the people who have paid £250 for a ticket want to see a more competitive game of rugby. 

Personally, I don't think that either the World Cup final nor the Premiership final was 'ruined' by a red card, despite the losing side in each playing nearly an hour with 14 men.

It’s a tricky one 

RL has always been more popular in Australia so nothing new here.

And I bet RA wish they had the influence you think they do.

"The Irish Rugby Football Union says like the French  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c153jvd7208o" rel="nofollow - it does not support 20-minute red cards replacing permanent red cards entirely  and welcomed the retention of the more severe sanction for the autumn internationals."

To issue a card, there has to be foul play.

Players at this level should know how to tackle.

What do we have to do to ingrain safety into coaching?

Referees will have the option to show a '20-minute red card' during the autumn internationals as the concept comes to the northern hemisphere men's Test rugby for the first time. While teams will still lose a player for the rest of the match in case of "deliberate and dangerous" foul play, technical offences - such as accidental head contact - can now be punished with a player being sent off, but replaced by a team-mate off the bench after 20 minutes. The French Rugby Federation came out against the possibility of the 20-minute red card entirely replacing permanent removal of players earlier this week, saying such a move would be an "unacceptable step backwards" for player safety. "No trial or subsequent change is considered without utter confidence that player safety and welfare is front and centre," said Julie Paterson, chief of rugby at organisers Six Nations Rugby. "First and foremost, we need to look after the players and their interests, and the trials we have opted to use this November deliver on this commitment.” The Irish Rugby Football Union says like the French it does not support 20-minute red cards replacing permanent red cards entirely and welcomed the retention of the more severe sanction for the autumn internationals. The Rugby Football Union is believed to be considering the evidence from this autumn before taking a stance on the issue. The possibility of the 20-minute version becoming the only red card available to referees is to be discussed at a World Rugby meeting on 14 November. The autumn internationals will also allow referees to broadcast directly to the crowd and television audience to explain the reasoning behind a key decision, as American Football officials do, for the first time. A 60-second 'shot clock' will also be in force for penalties and conversions, with the set-piece also under scrutiny with scrums and line-outs to be set within 30 seconds of the referee making a mark. “Everyone in rugby understands that there is a huge opportunity to capture the attention of a far broader audience, alongside catering for its existing and passionate fanbase," added Paterson. "The law trials are just one step towards exploring this opportunity and the trials running through the Autumn Nations Series will hopefully enhance the experience for fans." The autumn internationals begin on 2 November with England playing New Zealand and Scotland hosting Fiji.

The tongue in cheek answer to your question is for coaches to train their players to run in straight lines and not to duck to make tacking them safer for all parties. Unfortunately (fortunately) that isn't going to happen and it is inevitable that in a dynamic fast moving game players will suffer head knocks no matter how much the tackler tries to avoid it. 

I'm quite sure all coaches coach with safety in mind so it seems to me the twenty-minute red card with the carded player not being allowed to return and being the subject of further disciplinary action is a sensible approach. To me the real problem with this new regulation is that serious and deliberate foul play would not be punished as before but to be honest how often do we see red cards for this nowadays? 

From what I've read and heard, it will.  There is still the option for a full red card for serious foul play, whereas the 20 min card is more for the 'accidental' (for want of a better word) clashes eg Curry v Argentina, Cane in the WC final, Obano in the Premiership final.

If we want to promote Rugby as being safe, see the other thread on non-contact rugby in schools - we have to have safe professional rugby.

And that means players who know how to tackle safely.

If Curry had aimed for the abdomen not the ribs there would not have been a clash of heads.

Well that seems very sensible. (So it probably won't happen!).