Trying to Kick for Glory

Amongst you eager-eyed sports fans; you may have noticed that over that last few weeks a certain major event has been taking place in New Zealand. To those not in know, well let me put you out of your misery and enlighten you that rugby union’s version of the World Cup is currently being competed for. Unbelievably I am still pondering how four years have already passed since the 2007 edition held in France, and how South Africa complete with a jubilant president Thabo Mbeki, held the trophy aloft after a 15-6 win over the then defending champions England. Wow, time really does fly by!

Putting history to one side, if you are like me you would have enjoyed the rugby spectacular despite for some of us, the owl-like early starts to watch some of the matches. Highlights have included the colour and vibrant cultures on show, namely the war dances of some of the Pacific nations. Could we ever have a rugby union World Cup without the cries of New Zealand’s Haka? It just would not be a World Cup without it, truly a great sporting sight.

Other positives have included competitive contests at the elite-end, with some of the Home Nations namely Wales and Ireland, giving the Southern Hemisphere tri-nations something to think about. Also Argentina continuing the forward progression in the sport, dispelling thoughts that their two victories over France en-route to securing third place in 2007 tournament was a one-off.

But what has disappointed me is still seeing the high cricket scores posted when the elite nations face the lesser likes of Romania, Russia, and Namibia. Surely it cannot be good for the sport. But what has really frustrated me is the constant kicking game that we have seen during some of the games. Okay, I fully acknowledge that the kicking element is a prominent part of the game, particularly in applying pressure to the opposing team. However, unfortunately the teams have taken this tactic too far. All we see is teams playing negative rugby and launching the ball long, trenched within their own half.  

A feature that English winger Mark Cueto has commented in the past and claimed, “The way it is at the moment, if you get the ball deep in your own half, the easy option is to drill the ball long, put the pressure back on the opposition, wait for mistakes then take the points.” Well Cueto’s claims were very much true in this tournament as I was not sure if I was watching rugby's distant cousin of soccer being played. I like a bit of try-scoring in my rugby. I might be going out on a limb here, but is that not what we as watching fans draw us to the sport?

This brings me to another bugbear I have, the quick need for teams to kick for goal from a penalty. Some cynical detractors of the game claim that if you have a really good kicker, a team can boot their way to victories. I have always thought such a notion is a little harsh, but I do feel this theorem holds a component of truth, especially when a penalty kick is worth three points along with a drop goal. Yet the most important part of rugby in scoring a try is only worth five points.

Indeed scoring a try and conversion kick can result in seven points in this passage of play, but there does not seem to be much enticement for teams to go down this route. I do not blame the teams and their respective players opting to kick rather than fully going for a try. With only a two point difference from scoring a try and kicking between the posts, it is easy for sides to play the percentages and go for the open points of kicking for goal.

A bit radical thought but here is a suggestion for the IRB (International Rugby Board), why not lessen the points of kicking for goal to two points, and reward a try scored with 6 points. It would create an incentive of attacking play which we all want to see as fans, and help nullify some of the negative play that we have seen with some of the top teams competing in New Zealand. It would certainly get more bums on seats in the stadiums, which reportedly seemed to be a bit of a problem for the organisers of this year’s event.