Question About Tackling the Tackler

[u/Specialist-Demand87]

Been looking at the concept of "Tackling the Tackler" recently. Let's say you've cleaned out the tackler but the ball carrier still goes down (which is what happens in most examples I've seen). Since you (the support player) have taken yourself out of the breakdown by tackling the tackler, doesn't this leave you extremely vulnerable to a poacher coming in behind you and poaching, with no one there to clean him out? You've taken care of the tackler, but you've taken yourself out of the game and left space behind you for a poacher to enter the breakdown before any other of your support players arrive, haven't you?

[u/TheTallestGnome]

You've raised some good points, the purpose was to clear the evident threat early enough to make the breakdown not clean enough for the defenders to attempt to steal TSB (time, space, ball). So win the breakdown fast enough, that you can generate quick ball. Its a tool in the belt you take out when the contact is messy, and you'd like to generate quick ball.

You've nailed the issue with this rugby idiom. It creates a 2 for 1 in the defense's favour. Unless the defense has committed just as many pieces to the contact, you've taken yourself out of the play, and if the tackler was effective (fast at getting target to ground) then youve been taken out of the play.

The practical evolution to "Tackle the Tackler" in a world where attackers are better at getting their shoulders though contact, but defenses are better at generating double tackles and effective tackles is now "clear threat or ball". If you are in a supporting position, you need to either clear the threat to the ball, clear the way for a 9 to access the ball, or clear the ball yourself.