Effective tackling

Winning teams execute 3% more ’effective’ tackles and 4% fewer ’less effective’ tackles than losing teams

In simple terms, an effective way of preventing an attacking team from gaining territory and scoring points is by tackling the ball carrier. 

To have an ’effective’ outcome, the tackler should attempt to stop the ball carrier from gaining forward momentum.

This increases the time available for the attackers to free the ball from the tackle situation, dislodge it, or ultimately turn over possession in the tackle, which includes forcing the ball carrier into conceding a penalty.

The majority of all tackles are less effective. In the study, on three out of five times, the ball-carriers gained territory from a tackle situation.

In 93% of all tackle situations, the ball carrier retained possession after contact had been made with the tackler, irrespective of the type of tackle used, the body position adopted, and the direction from which the tackler made the contact.

The favoured body stance for tackles was forward leaning (47%). The tackler approached the ball carrier most frequently from an oblique angle (35%).

’Effective’ tackle situations were more frequently observed with a forward-leaning torso, and with the tackler’s body weight predominantly on the front foot.

Conversely, ’less effective’ tackles comprised of more occasions when the torso was upright, and the tackler’s body was distributed onto the back foot.

The data suggests that, by making contact with the ball carrier from a front-on or oblique direction, the tackle and its outcome are significantly more likely to be ’effective’. 

However, if the ball carrier was approached from side-on or behind, the resulting tackle was more likely to be ’less effective’.

Winning teams made more ’effective’ tackles, and did so because they displayed the traits of a forward-leaning torso and front-foot tackles, more than the losing teams.

Though the differences in the percentages of effective tackles might seem small, they are likely to be significant when we look at the lower end of the game.