Dump tackle

For other uses, see Tackle.

The dump tackle is a tackling technique favoured mainly by rugby league players. The tackler wraps his arms around the ball carrier's thighs and lifts him a short distance in the air before forcibly driving him to the ground. The tackler must go to ground with the ball carrier for the tackle to be legal. In 2005 the IRB ruled that "" the act of lifting an opponent off his feet in a tackle AND dropping or 'spearing' that player so that his head and/or upper body comes into contact with the ground first, is a dangerous tackle." therefore in order for a dump tackle to be legal the tackler must make sure that his opponent lands flat on their back and not on their upper backs and or neck.

A similar tackle to the dump tackle is the spear tackle, a more dangerous (and illegal) move. This can be done by adding rotation to the player being tackled, causing the player to hit the ground head or neck first.

The move can be potentially fatal; at least one person has died from the maneuver, involving an incident in Canada in 2007.

A common receiver of the dump tackle are those who slow down or stop before contact.