I've been coaching this for almost 15 years and I can count the number of times one of my players have been "Pinged" for it on one hand.  In all honesty you are probably correct, but I have two points of contention:

• The Tackler has released the ball carrier and is fulfilling his duty, which is to get to his feet, once he has done so he can rejoin the game.  The fact that the most convenient place to put his hands when getting back to his feet is on his opponent is unfortunate.
• Secondly play the whistle, if the ref doesn't blow then it's ok in his eyes and you will win more turnover ball. 

I seek a way to gain an advantage occasionally that takes me to the edge of the Law and this is one of those cases, but it is important that the players know what they are trying to achieve in every aspect of the game.  This is best achieved by the coach analyzing every part of the game, clearly defining their objectives of each phase and developing techniques to achieve those objectives.  The final part of the coaches role in this is to sell this to his players and provide exercises so that the players are comfortable with the techniques necessary to achieve the objectives.

If you always do what you've always done

You'll always have what you've always had.

It's a science of it's own.

Our club have worked hard to establish various tackle types, what decisions need made prior to selecting the optimum tackle for your team at that moment in the match, what needs to happen throughout the tackle process, what to do on completing the tackle if you have won or have not won the ball.

We have also brought in a Judo coach to give the guys various strategies at tackle time (sometimes called turnover time.)

Some thoughts;

Every team has their preferred defensive system, well documented on this site and very helpful, but the one on one is the building block of the system.

The main priority I look for in this area is a sustained well organised defence that has pressure, width and depth. Eventually the correct choice and execution of a one on one tackle will result in loss of possession.

Within these systems some basic tackle types are found and some examples below;

Head On (rush up system - stop passing movement from going wide)

Side on (Up and out - stop wide ball carrier)

Drive Back (Pillars & Guards around the ruck)

For Head On we want to 'Track' the BC and execute the classis RL tackle described earlier.

As this tackle is succesfully made, we want the closest team mate in on the ball for turnover.The turnover guy is shouting 'Turnover' to let the ref and team mates know he's on the ball, we look at the tackle as the start of our attack.So getting the BC on his back with ball on top is best.

For side on, we want to stop and offload so we get hip to hip and as we scrag him down we slide over, getting to our feet and go for the ball.Again, he's shouting 'Turnover'. Here we want the BC to place the ball away from his body, other wise he gets penalised, but this also helps us get the ball.

For the drive back, we want to keep the ball close to the BC's body to slow down the ball and reduce the effectiveness of thier close pick and drive.Eventually, it slows down the forward momentum. We're not looking for a turnover here, but want the ball to go to the backs where our defensive system has set a trap waiting for the ball.

So Let's say from a set piece, the attack can move across the pitch - we press forward (Head on) - they get it wide (Side On) - they recycle a ruck (Drive Back) - the come back across the pitch (Head on) - they get it wide - and so on. Patience and good execution is needed one on one in each of these scenarios.

Most of our tackle drills feature these different types and some start with a defensive scenario and transition into an attack scenario from a turnover. Our thinking is that defensive systems are weak when aligned for attack.

We've copied a lot from RL as they specialise in the tackle, but RU plays on so where the ball ends up is absolutely vital. Knowing this has led to a deeper undertstanding of what we need to do when we're tackled and what's best for the team in retaining possession.

With set piece being fairly even these days, we coaches need to have this area as a core competence in the team in order to a) have a sustained defence and b) a sustained attack.

The topic on coaching resources shows lots of websites to find defensive drills etc.

Not Air Jordan

Yip. What we're doing is to work hard at the breakdown that as a minmum we slow down their ball and disrupt the scrum half getting into his clearing pass position.We never go for the legs of the protecting player until we've got our arm under his chest, then the Judo throw we call 'dig' allows us to get his centre of gravity higher and we put him back over his own ball and this hinders the scrum half.This helps to get us in a good counter rucking position and as we drive over the ball we are very vocal to let the ref know we're positively trying to win the ball.

This guy has been a breath of fresh air to us, and to be honest, some of the stuff he's doing is pretty obvious once you see it. The players appreciate his view (particularly when he can demonstrate throwing our big guys at ease and they wonder how he did it) but rather than 'smash' the ruck (which is still a valid option) we're giving the players options which might be better suited for their physique.

The more he makes the coaches understand how we can apply these techniques, the more we've taken our core competence drills and added little adaptations to use them.

The other thing he's reinforced is a 'determined to win' attitude. For a Judo guy, assessing the opposition and probing for weaknesses and exploiting them with your own are of strength as part of their make up. They're always looking to see how they can overcome and win and that's what comes across in the sessions.

regards,

Frenchy

Not Air Jordan