World Rugby Cracks Down: Hip-Drop and Knee-Drop Tackles Banned in Player Welfare Shake-Up

World Rugby has moved against one of the most feared tackles in the sport, announcing new measures to ban the hip-drop and knee-drop tackle techniques from the game. The crackdown, reported across rugby outlets on Wednesday, follows growing alarm over dangerous tackling techniques that have already caused serious lower-limb injuries. World Rugby's announcement marks the latest step in the governing body's long-running player welfare drive, which has already overhauled legal tackle heights in the community game and run elite-level trials. Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones has emerged as a central figure in shaping the new measures, lending the initiative the weight of one of the sport's sharpest defensive minds. His involvement underlines how seriously the top end of the game is taking the threat — the Springboks are the reigning standard-bearers of physical, line-speed defence, and their fingerprints on the crackdown will carry significant authority with players and coaches. The ban targets techniques where a tackler drops their body weight onto an opponent's lower limbs — a manoeuvre long outlawed in rugby league's NRL after a string of devastating injuries. Rugby union's autumn international schedule and the November Nations Championship now loom as the first major stage where the tightened stance will be tested. Enforcement details and sanctioning guidelines are expected to follow, but the message is already clear: the era of the hip-drop tackle in rugby union is over.