From The Vaults

There has been recent press attention on Brett Robinson, the former Wallaby flanker, who was elected as Chairman of World Rugby in November 2024, in succession to Sir Billy Beaumont. A fine player who won 16 caps for Australia in the mid-1990s, Robinson's place in rugby history had already been assured as he was the first player to be introduced as a tactical substitute in an international in the second half against Scotland at Murrayfield in November 1996.

After the tumultuous changes to rugby union following the introduction of professionalism in the summer of 1995, this innovation received relatively little coverage but the introduction of tactical subs undoubtedly changed the nature of the game to the extent that, for many years now, it is rare if a national side does not use its full complement of 23 players during a match.

In 2023 the tactical introduction of the reserve Springbok fly half Handre Pollard in the 31st minute of the World Cup semi-final against England was key in securing victory for South Africa when he kicked a vital long-range penalty goal in the 78th minute to win the match by one point. The remarkable drop-kicking exploits of the Irishman Ciaran Frawley, the replacement fly half who came onto the field with twenty minutes remaining, won his country their second test match against the Springboks this summer. His second drop goal from over 40 metres dissected the posts in the final minute of the match to secure a one-point victory. And it is impossible to ignore the impact of multiple simultaneous substitutions in recent years, such as the introduction of a complete new front row, which has changed the concept of rugby and how it is approached tactically. The Springbok 'bomb squad' is the ultimate exemplar of this tactic.

But what of the pre-1996 era when, officially, a player only entered the field to replace one of his team-mates who had been injured and declared unfit to continue by a medical doctor. For many years the outcomes of 15-a-side matches were regularly affected by injuries sustained by players during the match, and the long-term damage that players suffered through playing on after being injured had long been apparent. In 1968 the laws were changed so that the wording read:

A match shall be played by not more than fifteen players in each team. No replacements shall be allowed except:

(a) in recognised trial matches when replacements are allowed as determined by the Unions having jurisdiction over the match, and

(b) in matches in which a national representative team is playing, when replacements are allowed subject to the following conditions -

(i) not more than two players in each team may be replaced.
(iii) a player may be replaced only when, in the opinion of a medical practitioner, the player is so injured that he should not continue playing in the match,
(iii) a player who has been replaced must not resume playing in the match.

An early example of a substitute influencing the course of a match occurred a week later. At Sydney Cricket Ground, the New Zealand flanker, Ian Kirkpatrick, came onto the field in the 22nd minute as a substitute for the All Black captain, Brian Lochore, and sensationally scored three tries to ensure a 27-11 victory over the Wallabies in the first test of the series.

Ten years later on November 11th 1978 at Cardiff Arms Park, the All Black full back Clive Currie was injured in the opening minutes of the match and replaced by Brian McKechnie, the double rugby and cricket international. McKechnie kicked his third penalty goal in the 78th minute to win the match for the All Blacks by one point and Currie never played international rugby again. The reason for the penalty award remains hotly debated, but the fact remains that Wales have still not managed to beat the All Blacks since their victory at Cardiff Arms Park in 1953.

Kirkpatrick's three tries would remain a record for a substitute player for 30 years until Byron Hayward, the replacement Wales full back, scored three second-half tries against Zimbabwe in Harare. Four other players have since equalled that feat but Dane Coles, the All Black substitute hooker in his 76th test, remains the only substitute to have scored four tries in a match, a record he achieved in the first test against Fiji at Dunedin in July 2021.

The number of substitutes that could be introduced from the bench has gradually risen since 1996 and currently stands at eight players per team. A new category of temporary substitutions was introduced in the early 1990s for blood substitutions. More recently, HIAs (head injury assessments) following player collisions, have added to the plethora of team changes during a match. The game of rugby union has moved far from the days when it was just a 15-a-side match.