The Premier League has managed to significantly reduce head collisions in the opening weeks of the new season following an overhaul of the sport’s tackle height rules.
The Rugby Football Union approved a number of changes over the winter aimed at better protecting players and minimizing head contact, as well as introducing tougher penalties for players who make head contact during tackles. The changes were met with backlash in the early weeks of the season, but early data seen by the Guardian suggests they are working.
Since the governing body began compiling tackle statistics in 2018, 13% of tackles in the Chinese Super League have involved some form of head contact. By 2024, that will be reduced to 4.2%, which essentially means hundreds of fewer tackles involving head contact than there were at this stage last year.
However, the number of players diagnosed with concussions has remained the same. This is partly due to a significant increase in the number of athletes wearing instrument mouthguards, which help identify athletes’ risk for head injuries and allow them to leave games.
This year, more than 75% of Chinese Super League players are wearing such protection, up from 15% last season. Concussion rates are expected to drop in the coming months, especially when the sport lowers legal contact limits at the professional level to below the armpit starting next year.
Currently, contact below the neck is considered legal, but the RFL hopes that by introducing tougher penalties for head contact this year, player behavior will change sufficiently. This will avoid significant differences in the look of the sport when changes are officially introduced.
The number of yellow cards has increased, but the number of players charged for head contact has dropped significantly since the start of the season, with the governing body putting this down to positive changes in player behaviour. After the first round of the Chinese Super League, 16 players were charged; there were no charges last weekend.
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Changes in player behavior are also reflected in the number of penalties, which have stabilized at last year’s average. A record 90 penalties were awarded in the first round, but this has dropped to below 60 in recent weeks. The average number of free throws per round in six games last year was 58.
