5 Rugby-Inspired Secrets That Are Revolutionizing the Football Tackle
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Let's get one thing straight: the days of launching yourself headfirst at a ball carrier and hoping for the best are over.
The classic image of a football tackle: a chaotic, full-speed collision where the biggest guy wins: is being replaced by something smarter, safer, and way more effective. And guess where this revolution is coming from? A sport where players don't even wear helmets: rugby.
Coaches at the highest levels of football are taking notes. Texas A&M's Defensive Coordinator Jay Bateman is one of the leading voices in this movement, breaking down tackling into a precise science of leverage and body mechanics. The result? Defenders who stop runners in their tracks while protecting themselves from injury.
Here's the thing: these techniques aren't just for college stars or NFL pros. They work for every level of football: including you. So let's break down the five rugby-inspired secrets that are changing the tackling game forever.
1. The Golden Rule: Master the "Same Foot, Same Shoulder" Strike
This is the foundation. The non-negotiable. The rule that Coach Bateman calls essential for "all strikes."
Here's how it works: when you make a tackle, your power comes from having the same-side foot forward as your contact shoulder. Making a right shoulder strike? Your right foot needs to be forward. Left shoulder? Left foot forward.
Why does this matter so much?
When you get this alignment right, you're generating force that drives directly through the ball carrier. You're not glancing off. You're not bouncing away. You're transferring maximum power straight into their momentum: and stopping it cold.
Linebacker Torian York, who practices this technique using moving "rugby rings" in drills, puts it perfectly:
"I tell my guys all the time, when you make this strike the right way, you see the ball carrier get knocked backwards. You're killing the engine; you're knocking the thing down."
Think about that image: you're not just tackling: you're killing the engine. That's what proper mechanics can do.
2. A Safer Hit: Take the Head Out of the Tackle
Here's where things get serious: and seriously important.
With all the attention on player safety (especially head injuries), this principle might be the most critical one on the list. The rugby-style tackle makes a conscious, disciplined effort to remove the head from the impact zone entirely.
Your shoulder is your weapon. Your head stays clear.
NFL linebacker Bobby Wagner is a perfect example of this technique in action. Watch his tackles closely, and you'll see his shoulder making powerful primary contact while his head is positioned safely to the side: never in front, never absorbing the blow.
Research backs this up in a big way. Studies show that rugby-style tackling produces measurably lower impact forces than traditional football tackles. In fact, some NFL teams have already adopted these methods specifically to reduce concussion risk.
Here's the mind-blowing part: the safest technique is also the most powerful technique. When you lead with your shoulder and keep your head clear, you're in a stronger biomechanical position to deliver a devastating hit. Safety and effectiveness aren't competing: they're working together.
3. Change the Strike Zone: Attack the Thigh Board
Your instincts are lying to you.
Every young player wants to go high. They want that explosive, highlight-reel hit that sends the ball carrier flying. But here's the truth that elite coaches know: targeting low is biomechanically devastating.
Specifically, you want to attack the ball carrier's "thigh board": the upper leg area around the center of gravity.
Why? Because legs are the engine. When you strike at the thigh board, you're removing the propulsive force from the runner's body. You're not fighting against their forward momentum: you're eliminating it at the source.
Former safety Miles Dorne demonstrates this beautifully in practice, showing how defenders can visibly change their strike zone mid-approach to secure tackles they might otherwise miss.
Coach Bateman explains the thinking:
"…changing the strike zone on the strike is going low… because I'm trying to get my body down on the thigh board."
This isn't about being tentative or avoiding contact. It's about being smart about where you deliver that contact. Hit the thigh board, and you control the tackle. Every. Single. Time.
4. The Geometry of Power: The "Three Bends"
Here's a secret that separates good tacklers from great ones: the power doesn't come from your upper body.
Read that again.
The explosive force of a tackle is channeled from the ground up through proper body mechanics. And that means mastering what's called the "three bends":
- Knee bend
- Ankle flexion
- Hip flexion
Picture a coiled spring. When you maintain these three bends, you're storing energy in your lower body that can be released explosively into the ball carrier. Without them? You're just throwing your weight around and hoping for the best.
The world-famous All Blacks: New Zealand's legendary rugby team: are the visual gold standard for this powerful, flexed tackling stance. Watch their players approach contact and you'll see athletes who look ready to explode forward at any moment.
This stored energy is exactly what allows you to execute that low strike to the thigh board we talked about. The three bends give you the power to drive your shoulder through the target and put the runner on the ground: even if they outweigh you by 30 pounds.
5. Body Position is Key: Eliminate the Cutback
The final principle is all about angles: and winning the chess match before contact ever happens.
Most young players make the mistake of trying to "square up" directly in front of the ball carrier. It seems logical, right? Get in their way and stop them.
Wrong.
The rugby technique teaches you to get your body behind the ball carrier, tracking their inside hip rather than their front. The specific coaching cue is to "track the back side of it, not the front side of it, because we're trying to track the inside out on the ball carrier."
This positioning does something magical: it completely eliminates the cutback lane.
When you're tracking the runner's inside hip from behind, they have nowhere to go. No angle to cut back. No escape route. They're forced to take what you give them: which is exactly where your tackle is waiting.
When Everything Goes Wrong: A Lesson in What NOT to Do
Coach Bateman loves using "bad examples" in film study, and one particular failed tackle showcases a violation of nearly every principle we've discussed:
- The tackler's body is in front of the runner, leaving a cutback angle open (violating Principle 5)
- His head is down, creating a safety risk (violating Principle 2)
- There's no bend in his knees or hips, robbing him of power (violating Principle 4)
- His drive foot isn't the same as his contact foot (violating Principle 1)
The result? A missed tackle, a big play for the offense, and a defender who put himself at risk for nothing.
This demonstrates the most important lesson of all: a successful tackle isn't a single action: it's the precise execution of an interconnected system. Get one thing wrong, and the whole thing falls apart. Get everything right, and you become unstoppable.
The Future of Football Technique
The modern tackle is a science of precision, leverage, and safety: not just unchecked aggression. By adopting these fundamental principles from rugby, football players at every level are becoming more dominant defenders while simultaneously making the game safer for everyone.
The question is: are you ready to put in the work to master them?
As the game continues to evolve, what other fundamental techniques are waiting to be rediscovered?
Want to train like an elite athlete and master these game-changing techniques? Visit myfootballcamps.com to find camps and training programs near you, explore coaching resources at coachschuman.com, and learn more about the Boardwalk Beasts Football Club at boardwalkbeastsfb.com. The next level is waiting( let's get after it.)
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