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SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP TACKLE LAW:THE LITERAL manner in which South African officials have refereed tackle law 15.6(c) since their arrival for rounds three and four of the Six Nations Championship continues to be a concern for the Irish management.

An IRB spokesman told The Irish Timesyesterday: “There has been no tackle law amendment or modification during the RBS Six Nations. In November 2009, the IRB’s high performance referees and union referee managers met in London for their annual conference and agreed to stricter application of law in a number of key areas, including offside from kicks, rucks and mauls, scrum engagement and the tackle law. These directives were issued across all unions and have been in operation since the 2009 November Tests.”