High tackle sanctions, in order.

How officials build the sanction

1. Confirm whether there was head or neck contact, or dangerous high contact.
2. Judge the level of danger from speed, force, body shape, and point of impact.
3. Check for mitigation, such as a sudden late drop in height or another player changing the picture.
4. Use that combination to decide whether the outcome is penalty only, yellow card, or red card.
5. If needed, confirm the on-field decision with TMO support.

Details fans miss most

• Head contact is serious, but not automatic red: mitigation can lower the sanction.
• Mitigation is limited: it has to be real and clear, not just any movement by the ball-carrier.
• Danger matters: upright body shape, direct force, and no attempt to lower height push sanctions upwards.
• The replay angle can mislead: officials compare several angles before fixing the sanction.

"He was dipping"

That can matter, but only if the late drop genuinely changed the tackle picture enough to reduce the tackler's responsibility. It does not erase danger on its own.

Source material

• World Rugby Laws of the Game
• World Rugby Law Application Guidelines
• World Rugby Officiating

First identify elite or community rugby

This page applies the World Rugby Laws of the Game updated 1 July 2026 and the World Rugby Head Contact Process. The effective law distinguishes the relevant high-tackle sanction line: the shoulder line in elite rugby, while community rugby uses the waist or base of the sternum as selected by the responsible union or competition. A clip cannot be ruled correctly until that playing level and local selection are known.

The referee then separates two questions. One is whether the tackle was above the applicable sanction line. The other is whether there was dangerous contact, including head contact, under Law 9. A lower community tackle-height offence does not automatically carry the same card outcome as a high-danger head-contact incident. The applicable law, danger assessment, and sanction process must each be stated.

Build the decision from normal-speed evidence

1. Record the competition, playing level, and effective tackle-height variation.
2. Watch normal speed to assess time, force, and the tackler's body shape.
3. Use slow motion to locate the first significant contact, not to invent reaction time.
4. Identify any late and material change in height or direction.
5. Apply the World Rugby process and explain why mitigation is or is not available.

Do not begin with the desired card colour and work backward. Write the factual finding first: contact point, degree of danger, and any mitigation. Then connect that finding to the sanction permitted by the effective World Rugby process. If a competition uses a foul-play review or off-field card process, record that procedural outcome separately from the on-field legal analysis. Where evidence remains inconclusive, say which factual element could not be established from the available replay.