Following his visit with the NFLs?Atlanta Falcons?to pass on his expertise in?tackling techniques last month, ex-England rugby coach Stuart Lancaster believes coaches of his sport and those of American ftball can learn from each other.Lancaster was invited to spend time with the Falcons after he met Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff at a coaching conference in Los Angeles. He spent three days with the Falcons during their mid-June minicamp at the teams training facility in Flowery Branch, Georgia.The intensity between top-level international rugby and NFL is similar, Lancaster told ESPN. There are some differences in the basic nature of the sport; however, there are a lot more similarities in terms of the tackling and physicality. We can learn a lot from NFL, and vice versa.Similarities between American ftball and rugby have been explored before. The Seattle Seahawks, with whom Quinn was defensive crdinator before joining the Falcons last year, have championed rugbys tackling techniques as a way to avoid dangerous contact to the head.Lancaster, who left England in the wake of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, is an admirer of American ftball, and his coaching philosophy has been influenced by Bill Walshs leadership guide, The Score Takes Care of Itself.Part of Lancasters mission with the Falcons was to explain how he feels American ftball can learn from rugby. His primary focus was on tackling, specifically on driving through the collision and head placement.A lot of the tackles in American ftball are very similar to rugby, Lancaster said. Having seen what we do in rugby, they identified a few areas which will help them improve in their own technique.We talked about ftwork into contact, making sure you get your head the right side of the tackle and winning the last meter, so dominating the collision. In American ftball, as sn as the knee touches the flr, the tackle is complete. But in rugby, we focus more on hitting and completing the tackle, and thats an area they were interested in.Lancaster passed on his knowledge first to the Falcons coaches, and he finished the visit by presenting to the whole playing and management group. The presentation covered what Lancaster learned from his time in charge of England and focused on getting the players to understand their responsibility in driving the culture alongside the coaches.In a rugby game, they are tackling constantly so we thought there was a lot to gain from Stuart, Quinn said in a press release. He came in and we spent a gd bit of time talking tackling, what drills to use and if theres a crossover that we use from our game that he can use, and something from his game that we might be able to use.Lancaster also analyzed last seasons game between the Falcons and Washington Redskins from a rugby point of view, lking at the tackling from a performance and safety perspective.His time with the Falcons was an eye-opener and a mutually beneficial exercise. Lancaster was left hugely impressed by the athletic ability of the Falcons players, especially wide receiver Julio Jones, and the intensity of their training.Lancaster, who helped set up the new professional rugby league in America, feels heading forward that players who fail to make the cut in NFL should consider lking to rugby -- and perhaps reversing the path Australian rugby star Jarryd Hayne traveled last year, when he joined the San Francisco 49ers.For Lancaster, he is waiting for his next challenge in rugby but is enjoying learning from various sports. He has spent time with British Olympian Ben Ainslies sailing team, and he will draw on the experience of seeing firsthand what the Falcons do.I was really impressed by the attention to detail they put into training, the organization and efficiency of the session, and they put a big emphasis on real-time decision-making, Lancaster said. 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Quebec had also previously banned it. Debate over when to allow players to start hitting has inflamed emotions on both sides of the argument for years. But research that came out of Alberta last year showed there was a three-fold increase in the risk of injuries for peewee players who check in Alberta, compared to those in Quebec where bodychecking is not allowed until bantam. Paul Carson, vice-president of hockey development for Hockey Canada, said safety was a key factor in the boards decision. He said reaction at the meeting was mixed, but most thought it was the right move. "While some would be reluctant because of their traditional beliefs of the game, they also understd that the safety and the area of skill development were critical issues to consider," said Carson on Saturday. Kelly McClintock, general manager of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association, maintains that bodychecking is a skill that should be taught to children as young and eight and nine. "Our membership has always been very strongly in favour of having bodychecking as early as possible," he said. "Its always been a pretty emotionall discussion.ddddddddddddquot; He said the association was disappointed, but not surprised that the motion passed. The changes will take effect in the upcoming 2013-14 hockey season, which begins in September. Hockey Canada said the board has agreed to develop a bodychecking standard for coaching, to be implemented in the 2014-15 season. But McClintock says thats putting "the cart before the horse." "For us it was probably a little bit more of a concern over the process, that it happened very quickly in the last three weeks to a month," said McClintock. "I think we have to lk at the process that we follow when were going to do something like this." Halifax Mseheads coach Dominique Ducharme, who is in Saskatn for the MasterCard Memorial Cup, noted that 11- and 12-year-old kids can vary drastically in size. "The more the players at a younger age can work on their skills, beside wondering about getting body checked and body weight and height difference, I think maybe (in) the long run it might just help develop players with even better skills," he said. But Mseheads forward Stefan Fournier said bodychecking teaches players an important aspect of the game at an younger age. "When youre a peewee hockey player the games not as fast. It teaches you to learn to keep your head up when youre skating around. That kind of stuff does limit head injuries," said Fournier, a day before hitting the ice at the Memorial Cup final against the Portland Winterhawks. "The games fast and if you have your head down for a split second you can get caught." By Aly Thomson in Halifax and Joshua Clipperton in Saskatn ' ' '