Leading elbow

Have any of you noticed how Etzebeth, when he is the ball carrier, runs with his elbow out in front of him. Any player attempting to tackle him front on, will get that big old elbow slammed into them. Could be face, neck, chest....and its all legal. I find it to be very dangerous. There are probably many players that do this, but I have specifically noticed him doing it. This is a rule that I feel needs to be looked at. Does possession of the ball mean you have carte blanche and you can do whatever you want with zero regard for any opposing player's safety? It just seems silly to me. Think of the outrage if a tackling player ran elbow first into the ball carrier? 

Bluebok 

Be careful - Beeno and Mozart will have seizures in this case.

I have no problem with Etzebeth using his forearm to ward of tacklers - but it should not be used neck high or higher - since as you describe it - it is dangerous.   I think ba ck and he must have learnt that one from Bismarck - but it can backfire on him.     

It's very difficult for a man so tall as EE...tacklers should go low...that's a simple solution...the trouble is today players appear to tackle higher than when I was very young...that was even the standard at school amongst boys, we had to tackle low...Maritzburg fields in winter were rock hard as we got frost in the mornings and eina the roasties...not funny. The schoolboys in Western Cape were luckier.

The old adage still should apply...if you go low, the bigger they are the harder they fall

Mozart

Some players like for instance Etzebeth is incapable of off-loading balls and even in phase play they go low in tackling him (same as happened with Alberts) so they usually make minimal progress in ball carries.

Where players are capable of off-loading - whether forwards or wider out - it is better to go higher in making tackles, but there is effectively no hard and fast rules on the topic.  Some really good off-loaders are capable of off--loading while being tackled higher. .    

Mozart

Some players like for instance Etzebeth is incapable of off-loading balls and even in phase play they go low in tackling him (same as happened with Alberts) so they usually make minimal progress in ball carries.

Where players are capable of off-loading - whether forwards or wider out - it is better to go higher in making tackles, but there is effectively no hard and fast rules on the topic.  Some really good off-loaders are capable of off--loading while being tackled higher. .    

I clarified the issue as there is effectively no real format as you suggested - it really varies from player to player - whether playing in traffic or in the open field,   .  

My problem is that there are preciously few SA players capable of balls in tackle situations - but that is a different topic altogether.   

Mozart you are right in some instances with players with quick and sharp offloads but when EE bursts through a low tackle might take him by surprise...depends on his reflexes, are they sharp..is a smart offloader.? I'm not sure!... so few have the courage to apply it.

The present threshold for legal tackle is the shoulders but I believe they are going to drop it to chest...besides an average height player will have some difficulty high tackling Etzebeth and hard tackle low is the only way to stop in his tracks a player like Etzebeth

Ou maaaaikie is very tiresome contradicting Dr Moz regardless. If ou maaaikie would be sensible and read very carefully and consider at length what Dr Moz posts he would be a wiser oak - however that said t would take some time for ou maaaaikie to get to an acceptable level as he is starting off from a very low base!

Bluebok please oak lets just concentrate on kiwi foul play etc. We all know what an honest hard working lock Eben is - by some distance the bet lock in the world.

I think this year the kiwis may be focusing on forward passes and tackling players without the ball. Each year they have the foul play preferences.

Eben hardly makes ground using the elbow thing.

Pretty easy to conjure up a mental image of Eben crouched over in a tackle with his elbow out protecting or trying to protect the ball.

Such a waste. Locks have the longest reach. He is a powerful guy. He should be using his reach and power to hand off while in space.

I actually think Eben can take lessons in that department from the Dup bros. Hitting space to isolate defenders and handing them off to gain ground.

But yeah, an elbow from Eb en would likely kill me. So there's that.