Paul Morris has added his voice to the ever-increasing chorus of dissenters opposed to the new tackle laws that will be introduced into much of English rugby from 1^stJuly.

The Rugby Football Union announced at the end of last week that the tackle height will be lowered to below the waist from next season, a move that will affect all clubs in the country apart from those in the Premiership and the Championship.

The RFU want to reduce the number of injuries – and specifically head injuries – in the game.

Currently, the law states that a player cannot tackle or attempt to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders or make contact with the neck and head, even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.

Morris, Director of Rugby at Cinderford RFC, has spent a lifetime involved in the game as a player, coach and head coach before taking up his current role with the National One club in November 2015. He thinks a lot about the game and is not a man who wastes words.

And while he, like everyone else in the game, wants to reduce the number of injuries, he does not believe the new tackle law is the way forward.

“It’s a very draconian move in one go,” he said. “It’s a big step to be allowed to tackle below the neck as we are now and then be told you’ve got to tackle below the waste in a few months’ time.

“Look, I understand trying to make the game safe, but I don’t think the new tackle law will make it safer.

“At the moment a tackle around the neck or head is an automatic red card. That is the way it should be and even if the impact is accidental every tackler knows the consequences if he or she gets it wrong.

“Apparently under the new laws proposed by the RFU, the ball carrier is encouraged to stay upright and use enhanced evasion and offloading skills.

“With the new law stating you must tackle below the waist you’re going to get a tackler’s head hitting hips, hitting knees and hitting the floor. Therefore I don’t think it will reduce the number of concussions.

“I don’t think it will do anything for grassroots rugby. It’s going to change the landscape of the game dramatically and I think you’ll get a lot of good players leaving the game prematurely at a time when we’re already worried about player numbers.

“A prop, for example, isn’t going to start running upright with the ball, he’s still going to want to lead with his shoulder.

“But if we start losing props that’s going to make our scrums less safe. That’s just an example but there will be other consequences to the way we play the game. The driving maul will be even harder to stop!”

But while Morris, who lives in Dursley, is opposed to the changes, he’s also got clear ideas on how the game can move forward.

“I think a more progressive step would have been to say that tackles should be below the sternum,” he said. “That would not be so drastic a change as the game is facing now.

“You can only make so many changes to rugby union, otherwise it stops being rugby union. It’s a contact sport.

“People play the game because they want to. They are not forced to play, they know the risks.

“I know you get some horrific injuries, but rugby union always gives a lot more than it takes away. Rugby union is the finest team sport in the  world.”

And Morris believes there are inconsistencies in the way the new law will be applied.

“What about the players in the academies?” he continued. “The new law doesn’t affect them but if they go out on loan to Level 3 or Level 4 clubs, the new law will apply to them. They’ll have to learn to play two games.”

Morris believes the RFU should be looking more long-term rather than trying to fast-track their new tackle law.

“They should be introducing it into under-20s rugby and below,” he said. “By targeting the youngsters at schools and in clubs you can affect the next generation of players.

“Why target the whole of the community game? I am worried and I hope I’m proved wrong.

"I know the raft of litigations the RFU is facing from groups of former professionals and amateurs alike has placed them under huge financial threat and they feel they need to change the way we play to alleviate the threat of serious head injuries, so I know they are in a difficult position.

“It has made me think about whether I want to carry on in rugby but I probably will because I see it as another challenge and I will always love the sport.

“However, if you build a side that can win National One, that side may not be relevant when you are promoted to the Championship.

“The RFU governs some 2,000 clubs in England and this new law affects nearly all of them apart from an elite few. I would like to know who the people were who decided on this law change.

“The RFU does not reveal who was on the advisory panel. Why not? Who voted for it? Was it unanimous or were there dissenting voices?

“This isn’t a witch-hunt but we would like to know and I think we have a right to know how our sport is being governed.”

And Morris, while prepared to work within the new guidelines next season, will still do everything he can to help overturn them.

“There are thousands of petitions going around on social media opposing the new law, I’ve signed everyone I’ve seen and can,” he said.

Morris was a scrum-half for Old Patesians in the 80s and 90s when the club climbed rapidly through the divisions.

He became a coach at the only club he ever played for before becoming head coach at first Cheltenham North and then Coney Hill. He initially ran Cinderford’s United team before taking on the top role at the Forest of Dean club.