World Rugby has instructed referees to get tougher on the breakdown as it reveals a 'law application guideline' for what is a hotly-debated facet of the game.
There are heightened fears regarding the way players now enter rucks at increasingly ferocious speeds and from all angles.
In his first interview after being forced to retire in 2018, Wales and Lions legend Sam Warburton told the Times : “You have to look at the clean-outs. You need to protect the jackalers.
“Sometimes you are over the ball and you have got three players slamming into you.
"When you are vulnerable is when you are over the ball and your neck is exposed. That is a lot more of a safety concern for me than where your arms wrap on someone in a tackle."
However, the words of one of the greatest breakdown technicians the game has seen were, and continue to be, ignored.
World Rugby assembled a 'specialist breakdown group' of players, coaches and medical experts to take a close look at what they describe as 'a complex and dynamic facet of the game'.
Changes to the laws were considered but ultimately officials have been reminded of the laws and instructed to apply them more stringently.
Specifically, referees are being told to focus on the tackler rolling away, arriving players remaining on the feet and arriving players joining a ruck from an onside position.
The laws were assessed in order to ensure 'player welfare and game attractiveness'.
"The breakdown is the most dynamic facet of the game and it is increasingly difficult to referee, but just as importantly, it is responsible for nine per cent of match injuries," said World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont.
"Therefore it was important that we looked to identify ways to reduce the risk of injury, while promoting a fair contest for the ball.
"The group looked at a range of potential solutions, including potential law trials, but they unanimously agreed that the best practical and evidenced approach is to reinforce existing law, rather than law change.
"In particular, there will be focus on the ball carrier playing or placing the ball immediately, the tackler releasing immediately, rewarding the player who wins the race to the contest, penalising side entry and players who dive, not drive, into rucks."
Surprisingly, Warburton, now part of Wayne Pivac's Wales coaching staff as a breakdown expert, was not invited to be part of the process.
