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Cape Town - England captain Owen Farrell has been forced to alter his tackling technique ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
This comes after the England flyhalf was involved in two controversial incidents in Tests against South Africa and Australia at Twickenham last November when his no-arms tackles on Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen and Wallabies lock Izack Rodda went unpunished.
The Boks were denied a late penalty in their 12-11 loss, while the Wallabies missed out on a potential penalty try in a 37-18 defeat.
World Rugby subsequently implemented new rules around the tackle area, which meant Farrell would have been punished under the new laws.
England defence coach John Mitchell told reporters in Japan that Farrell has paid some attention to the issue.
"Owen is not overly focused on that area (tackling). But he has made some adjustments based on last autumn," Mitchell said, as quoted by BBC Sport.
Mitchell, who joined England from the Bulls late last year, added: "John Carrington, our strength and conditioning coach, is also my support on defence and he's very good at working on tackle technique.
"There can be mitigating circumstances, but if your hands are in front of your shoulder you've got a better chance of making a proper wrap tackle. If your shoulder is ahead of your hands, then the law doesn't look after you very well."
England are in Pool C at the World Cup alongside France, Argentina, USA and Tonga.
WATCH in the video clip below how World Rugby established a new high-tackle sanction framework for match officials.
- Compiled by Herman Mostert
