By rugbyfuture -
February 10th 2010 @ 1:27am
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Drop kick the place kick and speed the game up
Rugby is going through a rebuilding process, after experimentation with laws and interpretations, as well as disastrous sentiment from the public.
Much of this tumultuous half of a decade has been blamed on the emergence of kicking as a preferred method of scoring, avoiding the breakdown, which has developed as a home place for the defending side.
With a new focus on the attacking side, old style rugby is set to return to the forefronts of the game.
But as always, we must look beyond this to a permanent change to the game, rather than base it on referee’s interpretation, which over time can fall back into old habits.
One answer to this is infusing it with some Sevens, and dropping the place kick.
Removing the place kick would not only remove downtime from the game, and make kicking a faster process, but it would also make a penalty kick harder for the offensive team, meaning greater incentive to play the ball in hand.
This would also defeat the argument by rugby conservatives that any change in laws is the league-ing up of our game.
This would not make sense to those who think the current system is working but the fact is it isn’t, and introducing a single style of scoring would simplify the rule book and speed up the game. Pair this with a reduction in penalty goal points and it reduces the rules even more.
It would mean that the kickers would have a specific style of kicking to focus on, and would act faster. One problem that could be seen over time would be the close perfection of the drop kick, as has been seen with the penalty kick. But the difference would be that the game down time would be reduced and a quick kick would most likely emerge over any lingering currently seen with place kicks.
Dropping the place kick would one change to speed up the game. Above all else, though, is the possibility of simplifying the game, paired with the prospect speeding up of it.
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(21)
sheek said | February 10th 2010 @ 6:04am | Report comment
Rugbyfuture,
Many, many years ago I read a piece which described beautifully how sport should be paced (the rhythm of it).
Basically, we need the “pauses” in a game to reflect upon & appreciate any brilliant helter-skelter period that has just preceded it. The players also need those pauses to recover their breath & energy.
Removing place kicks is a wrong diagnosis. You can only speed up a game so much before the whole exercise becomes counter-productive.
The rugby fan is looking for more quality passages in his game, not necessarily helter-skelter, continuous action that doesn’t mean much. Basketball is helter-skelter, continuous action, but how many goals would an average fan remember from any basketball game???
Sam Taulelei said | February 10th 2010 @ 6:47am | Report comment
I would be interested to see if there’s a breakdown of the time lost in taking place kicks, opposed to time lost in injury breaks, reset scrums, length of time to throw the ball into the lineout and clear the ball from static rucks during a game to see if your theory holds water.
My first reaction is that you’ve chosen to focus on an area that has attracted the most attention for a variety of reasons but time wasting isn’t one of them. Also I disagree that much of this tumultuos half of a decade has been blamed on the emergence of kicking as the preferred method of scoring. At what level? Tests only, domestic rugby, club rugby, schoolboy rugby? The last two years have certainly seen the number of tries scored reduced but that doesn’t represent half or even most of half a decade.
There are always a number of different ideas floated to increase the speed of the game but is it necessary? The flow of any match will always ebb and that leads to changes in tactics to improve a teams performance to negate the oppositions advantage. When teams play the All Blacks they try to slow down their ball because they know the All Blacks live for the continuity game and feast on quick turnover ball. How does increasing the speed of the game benefit their opposition?
Kicking is a skill, an art even. If rugby introduced the sevens style of kicking for goal then I believe that it would lose another part of it’s identitiy. Drop kicks in sevens rugby is necessary as the games only last for 14 minutes so time is a premium. Rugby is played over 80 minutes and has it’s own identity. We’ve already lost rucking and that’s bad enough for me.
Tony from Northbridge said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:23am | Report comment
Making penalty goals harder to score will only encourage defending teams to infringe more.
mattamkII said | February 10th 2010 @ 11:03am | Report comment
bad idea…fullstop…move on.
Dan Dresden said | February 10th 2010 @ 11:05am | Report comment
Go the whole hog Rugbyfuture – why not let them punt kick it over? Better still, throw it over!
Changing from place kicks to drops is hardly the change that is going to save rugby union from the place where it is now.
Brett McKay said | February 10th 2010 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Firstly, we’re talking maybe a couple of minutes – I’d say 2-3 tops – in saved time. Even less in low scoring games.
Secondly, have you tried to land a drop goal from the sideline?!?
I think OJ had a point the other day. Let’s just play rugby, and stop pfaffing about with the laws all the time. Can we have one season with the same laws and interpretations as the last?!?
Jock said | February 10th 2010 @ 11:58am | Report comment
Everyone is advocating speed up the game – speed up the game – well here is one blight on the game that needs to be removed – or simply no longer allowed – When will referee’s do their job correctly – The laws of the game require a player to remain outside of the 10mtr area (box, channel, circle) – at the same time we have a new variation to the law that allows a player to take a quick line-out with provisions (behind the mark, not in the in goal, not touched by any one other than the player etc etc) – yet every weekend we get players who are within the 10 mtr area when the ball is kicked from the field of play – remaining inside the 10 and not retiring – moving outside of the 10 – they simply stay there and prevent the player from taking a quick throw – if these throws were allowed we would save 45 seconds per line-out or longer Take note that the law does not state that the 10mtr rule is not in place when the ball goes over the sideline – only when the ball is declared dead – REFEREES get it together and adjudicate the law correctly – and consider this 35 lineouts in a game – now we get 6 average that are taken quickly – we would save 5 minutes or more of game time if we could get another 10 (both sides) that would allow us to see 20 more rucks, 40 more passes – 10 counter attacks (or 6 -10 more kicks in the NH)
Working Class Rugger said | February 10th 2010 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
Changing place kicks to drop kicks won’t change anything. I agree with Jock’s sentiment regarding referee’s. Rugby has to remove as much of the interpretation issues as possible. Once this is done and ref’s are reading from the same book on all the rules not their own based on the laws then the game would improve markedly.
Instead of removing place kick the IRB should re-introduce the short arm penalty system seen under the ELV’s for everything other than professional fouls. However, instead of of a aimless kick or scrum they are only given the option of tap and go.
Clarify the advantage. Use the TMO’s access the technology to assist this. By applying the same visual aids used in broadcasting the NFL on TV an automatic advantage line 5m behind the offence, they have 30 seconds to advance the ball pass this point. If it crosses the lines then the TMO indicates to the ref that advantage is played. Once it passes the line regardless if the play goes backwards immediately after the advantage has been played. Apart from the traditional TMO decision this would be the only other judgement they would make. The offside rulings will remain that of the ref. In terms of kicking. Simple, if you kick the ball regardless of the result advantage is immediately played. You must attempt advantage. No intentional knock ons. Short arm reward to defending team if not attempted.
Finally, place a time limit on lineouts. 1 min total from the ball going into touch. Meaning the decision will need to be made in advance and throw in immediately after lineout is set.
ohtani's jacket said | February 10th 2010 @ 3:59pm | Report comment
I don’t understand this obsession with speeding the game up and scoring more tries. If you’re envious of rugby league, why not admit that you actually prefer rugby league and watch that sport? Saying you want a fast pace game of rugby where a bunch of tries is scored is like saying you want to watch a bunch of runs scored in cricket and we all know how wonderful that has been for the game of cricket.
rugbyfuture said | February 10th 2010 @ 4:03pm | Report comment
theres a difference between speeding up the game and watching league. I still want the contest to be there. but i don’t see the point in the existence of Place kicks when they slow the game
ohtani's jacket said | February 10th 2010 @ 4:46pm | Report comment
Mate, I don’t know how old you are but I think you would have died watching guys like Grant Fox go through their pre-kick rituals.
One of the great sights of rugby is watching a kicker line up for a penalty with an entire stadium bearing down on him. My wife has barely any interest in rugby but when I took her to the Bledisloe match in Tokyo, place kicking was one of the things that interested her most. Most Americans are astounded by rugby place kicking compared to American football. Even rugby league has place kicking.
I think you’re barking up the wrong tree here.
Working Class Rugger said | February 10th 2010 @ 4:12pm | Report comment
OJ
It not necessary speeding up the game. Well not in my view. Its about achieving consistency from those who officiate our game and moving toward greater continuity of play. Basically less down time involving interpretation of the laws from ref to ref, more ball in play for longer periods of time. Let’s face the facts. Rugby is now in the entertainment industry and must entertain. The contests that identify our game as our game are the reason many enjoy it. Its just I want to see more of it. Not two kicker’s going toe to toe.
ohtani's jacket said | February 11th 2010 @ 12:27am | Report comment
Having the ball in play more often or even having greater consistency from the refs is not going to create more continuity because ultimately rugby is a game where play breaks down continuously whether it’s from a knock on, a forward pass, a player in touch, a penalty or a turnover at the breakdown.
It strikes me that a lot of people would like rugby to involve non-stop possession and teams scoring tries against each other at will. Yet when you have a high scoring game like the Blues/Chiefs game from last season, people rubbish the defence. Well, you’re not going to strike the perfect balance based on the rule book.
Harry Kimble said | February 10th 2010 @ 4:44pm | Report comment
I think changing a place kick to a drop kick is a good idea. It does reduce the length of time between the stoppage of plays and requires a skill of its own. A drop kick is harder than a place kick but I do not believe it will make the players infringe more.
Already, the place kick has been removed at the start of a game, after half time and the restart after a converted try has been scored and a drop kick must now be used at these times.
I remember when a conversion attempt had to be held by a player who then dropped it into a prepared hole for the kicker to attempt the conversion. You could charge as soon as the ball touched the ground. People moaned when that was changed but no way you would return to that now.
American football has done away with place kicks and use the old Rugby conversion method. The ball is placed on a tee by a catcher/holder after being snapped back for the kicker to attempt the goal kick. This is used for both field goals and conversions (extra point). Note that gridiron has done away with drop goals and penalty goals.
ohtani's jacket said | February 10th 2010 @ 5:09pm | Report comment
One idea that rugby ought to think about adopting is the NFL rule for missed field goals. In the NFL, missed field goals attempted from the 20-yard line or closer result in the opposing team taking possession at the 20-yard line. Missed field goals attempted from beyond the 20-yard line result in the opposing team taking possession at the spot of the kick. Personally, I think the 22m restart after a missed penalty is crap.
bever fever said | February 10th 2010 @ 5:07pm | Report comment
The place kick pretty well finished in Australian football 100 years ago because of the speed of the game, but in unions case it is used primarily to kick goals, it is a skill that is hard to learn and IMO a special part of union/league.
Lots of kids spend hours honing that particular skill and if you dont use it you lose it.
It appears to me that union in Australia is doing its utmost to turn into league or god forbid Australian rules football by increasingly speeding up and loosening/changing the rules.
simon said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:19pm | Report comment
Just stop the clock when the ball goes out, or a try is scored. Give the fans more game time: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/lets-face-it-its-time-to-stop-wasting-time-20100203-ndgm.html
CraigB said | February 10th 2010 @ 9:08pm | Report comment
Just stop the clock while they do it…
klestical said | February 10th 2010 @ 10:41pm | Report comment
I think its a good idea and I have thought about this a lot. What all of us want is a game where a team is less tempted to go for the posts and rather chance their arm at a line-out or scrum.
However as we all know, changes in rugby never end the way they were intended. What we will see is more infringements at the breakdown increasing the stop-start nature we are currently watching.
AndyS said | February 11th 2010 @ 4:20pm | Report comment
Nope, the place kick should stay. What I would consider would be giving the scoring side the option to drop-kick a conversion for 3 points – another level of possibilities for those final minute tight finishes. And when it comes to encouraging or discouraging kicking I am with OJ – they shouldn’t be mandating when you can or can’t kick, rather change the risk/reward equation associated with missing.
Loftus said | February 16th 2010 @ 8:58am | Report comment
Barking up the wrong tree? More like yelping up the wrong tree.Rubbish article, best thing for you (and us) will be to leave union alone and move over to league.Go and stuff their game up.Getting sick and tired of everyone wanting to change the game I fell in love with as a youngster.Now that rugby union viewers have declined in Australia,everyone else must fall in with these new rules to make rugby more attractive and attrack more people.Talk about arrogant.