I had a good question from a coaching colleague today regarding who can do what when attempting to steal the ball at the tackle contest and thought I’d share my reply:
Regarding the contact area, my philosophy these days is to not get bogged down in ‘un-winnable battles’ on the ground (unless the counter-ruck is on) and go for the steal in the next tackle. If there are no attacking players immediately present to set up a ruck, however, then going for the steal is a MUST in my book…
As for your situation, I think I could put it simply by saying that both defenders HAVE to release. The person actually going to ground can get up and play the ball from any direction, while the ‘tackle assist’ player must come through the gate. The tackle assist still has to release the tackled player, be on her feet, which should be supporting her body weight. Technically, I think she also needs have shoulders above hips, but that one’s not called too strictly by my observation (that said, I ALWAYS teach my players to adhere to “shoulders above hips” because it’s just safer that way, so they’re not exposing neck/back to the player coming to clear out).
Here’s the relevant bit of Law:
Law 15.4 THE TACKLER
(a) When a player tackles an opponent and they both go to ground, the tackler must immediately release the tackled player.
Sanction: Penalty kick
(b) The tackler must immediately get up or move away from the tackled player and from the ball at once.
Sanction: Penalty kick
(c) The tackler must get up before playing the ball and then may play the ball from any direction.
Sanction: Penalty kick
And
Law 15.6 (c) Players in opposition to the ball carrier who remain on their feet who bring the ball carrier to ground so that the player is tackled must release the ball and the ball carrier. Those players may then play the ball providing they are on their feet and do so from behind the ball and from directly behind the tackled player or a tackler closest to those players’ goal line.
Sanction: Penalty kick
I’ve read a fair bit of debate on the two-man tackle technique, which has come from Rugby League. If you’re trying to stop the ball close to the try line, first-high / second-low makes sense. (In League they do this to slow the play down because as soon as a tackle is made the entire defending team, apart from the tacklers, have to retreat 10m. If they went low and quick, there’s a good chance they’d be caught on the back foot). In other places in Union, however, I think low and quick by the first into contact is best as such a tackle usually places the ball on OUR side allowing the ‘tackle assist’ player to come in and poach the ball. I think both have their place – Ireland have been stopping teams in their tracks with the high hit first in the RWC – and their big, aggressive forwards are good at stopping the ensuing drive. I wonder if high / low, though, reduces the likelihood of a poach because the ‘high’ defender is working against the ‘low’ with regard to bringing the player down and forcing her to release. That’s just my opinion. Either way, getting the player down quickly, releasing and getting to one’s feet (or rolling away) and challenging the ball is about dominance. Nothing frustrates me more than the lazy high challenge – or the ‘ball room dance’ technique, which gives the opposition a chance to form a ruck because the process of going to ground takes longer. A quick, dominant tackle contest can catch them well out of position and give the defending team the advantage.
Here’s an example of a drill I use:
… after the technique is sound, I move to providing a support runner or two to increase pressure on the defenders to get the timing right. When I do that, though, it’s important to have someone ‘reffing’ the situation so cheating isn’t reinforced. The trick in the whole process is to determine WHEN the tackler touches ball VS. WHEN the ruck forms. She only has rights to the ball if the ruck hasn’t formed first. (My favourite drill to practice this is to have one attacker run against four defenders. Not all are going to get involved in the tackle – two at the most – and the other two can work on getting in position for the next phase and communicating this.)
Love this bit from the Green and Gold Rugby Blog:
“Perhaps the most novel approach so far comes from South Africa, where the Stormers’ players have taken to clapping their hands in an effort to show they have released the tackled player before attempting the steal…weird huh? If you’re attempting a steal and you know it, clap you’re hands…I can’t see it catching on.”
[I think it's a smart idea - takes a split second and makes it obvious to the ref!]
In this clip you can see some examples of how very brief the ‘release’ has to be (though I think the one at :43 is iffy … ref might have got that one wrong).
And some more here, with some clear-cut, and others maybe a bit debatable:
… hopefully you don’t mind a bit of Bon Jovi! 
