World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper says dangerous tackles will continue to be heavily punished by officials despite recent outcries about red cards.

Last week, Leicester lock Will Spencer was red-carded for a shoulder-to-the-head hit on Wasps hooker Tommy Taylor, which prompted interim head coach Geordan Murphy to say the ‘game’s gone too PC’.

Earlier in September, Bristol flank George Smith had his red card rescinded by a disciplinary hearing after being sent off for a dangerous tackle against Saracens.

‘We’ve got to work on our consistency I guess, but at the end of the day we’re trying to change player behaviour,’ Gosper told reporters in Sydney, where World Rugby is set to meet to discuss various issues facing the game.

‘We’re trying to lower the tackle height so we can reduce the incidence of concussion and injury … and cards are the best way to change player behaviour.’

When asked about the neck rolls from the All Blacks on Wallabies flank David Pocock during this year’s Bledisloe Cup clashes, Gosper said: ‘I can’t comment on any one incident but we’re certainly against neck rolls and the laws are against neck rolls and people are instructed to look out for that sort of behaviour.’

ANALYSIS: Player safety at breakdown

Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images