Ireland's final pool B game at the World Rugby U-20 Championship against Italy saw the early departure of Ciaran Booth due to a serious-looking injury suffered at the breakdown.
It's been a severe issue highlighted repeatedly this year as rugby looks to move towards a safer contest. The recent Dan Leavy injury instigated it once again. Side on clear-outs with jackalers exposed continues to lead to serious injuries. Pundits and players alike have cited as much.
Speaking to World in Union, the Balls.ie rugby podcast, the editor of rugbyandthelaw.com Ben Cisneros cited this as the most pressing aspect in cleaning up the game.
The massive danger there is players flying in off their feet. Not just going off their feet when they are in the ruck but actually flying into the ruck, almost launching themselves off their feet. It just means players are completely out of control going into the ruck.
Upon his recent retirement, Sam Warburton plead with authorities to address it: "You have to look at the clean-outs. You need to protect the jackalers."
Ciaran Booth, currently playing for Sale Sharks, fell victim to this failing when he was hit side on.
Another knee obliterated at the ruck. @WorldRugby protect our players
— Leinster PAGuy (@LeinsterPAGuy) June 12, 2019
That's a textbook example of the kind of thing rugby really needs to clamp down on.
— Jonathan Bradley (@JBradleyBT) June 12, 2019
Speaking to Balls.ie on this issue, former Munster back-row Niall Ronan argued rugby could address this issue if it were to implement existing laws.
It's about being more knowledgeable on it and speeding up decisions on the breakdown.
