I have given some thought to points changes to the scoring system of rugby. Many suggestions regarding this topic concern the reduction in value of the ubiquitous penalty goal from three points down to two.
Some have even suggested raising the value of a conversion from two to three points.
This suggestion has got me thinking about one of the aspects of the game of rugby that I love very much – the art of goal-kicking.
As a lover of both league and rugby all my life I clearly recall the days when rugby league goal-kickers were predominantly ‘toe-pokers’ (as were rugby kickers originally), while their union counterparts seemed a class above.
The league attempt from wide out was often a hopeful lottery.
Rugby code-hoppers such as Michael O’Connor and Matthew Ridge then added a spark of genius to the rugby league scene that was copied and then became the standard.
For many years rugby continued to produce artistic, fluent goal-kicking styles; Matthew Burke and Andrew Mehrtens were two attractively styled goal-kickers – a wide arc on approach and a glorious ‘golf swing’ style strike with the right boot.
Then along came Jonny Wilkinson and it appears the mutation in rugby goal-kicking styles occurred due to his outstanding success.
Take young Springbok fly half Elton Jantjies and many others world-wide. The cradled, prayer-like hold of the hands, a few short steps, then a booming straight kick.
As Jantjies introduced his Jonny Wilkinson-inspired technique in last year’s Rugby Championship, I was unsure whether I enjoyed watching him kick or whether it was simply all too stressful.
Similar stress affects all Wallaby fans when Kurtley Beale lines up a shot. It’s all a bit over the top.
So much rides on these kicks but they are tense and hard to enjoy watching.
Wilkinson’s style is designed to nail a three point strike from a long way out.
Dan Carter is similar. He dispenses with the bizarre hand cradle, yet still there’s just a few stuttered steps and a booming strike that is more about power than finesse.
As soon as Carter or Wilkinson connect, we know if it is on, or off target. James O’Connor has the classic modern rugby goal-kicking technique.
Whack it hard and hope it stays straight. There is little suspense while the ball is travelling towards the posts.
It’s simply ‘whack!’ and it’s either going in or it’s off target. This is now the global standard for goal kicking in rugby.
Take Morne and Franco Steyn – both great goal kickers, but attractive goal kickers? I no longer think so.
Do I enjoy watching Morne or Dan Carter nail six shots per game? No, I find it boring and tedious and though I appreciate their skill, I also find this type of goal kicking to be one dimensional and monotonous.
I’m still not sure where all this will lead but it appears to encourage some bizarre technical developments in the code that are less about fluency and artistry than they are about stress, power and hope.
In the NRL, Johnathan Thurston’s ability to bend the ball around the corner is a skill that I believe will never be seen in rugby, due to the point scoring imbalance in goal kicks.
Thurston is a joy to watch. The crowd rides every kick as it boomerangs around a huge arc back towards the goal posts.
It’s beautiful, it’s suspenseful and it’s exciting. He bends it both ways and also produces banana kick conversions from the touch-line.
Thurston’s goal-kicking makes David Beckham look positively mundane. Yet Thurston would most likely not have been a goal-kicker if he had played rugby instead of league.
As a rugby player he certainly would have been forced to develop a very different and far less attractive technique and style.
As a league goal-kicker he was able to approach his craft in a similar way to Shane Warne.
Warne didn’t have to bowl on different-sized pitches so he was able to practice, over and over again at making the ball turn from leg to off stump.
Thurston was able to develop his technique by also practising over and over again at conversion attempts from the sideline.
But he probably doesn’t practice too many 40 or 50-metre attempts at training and probably never has. When he steps up to kick, he looks intent and relaxed.
Rugby goal kickers rarely look relaxed. The last time I saw a rugby goal-kicker smile as he lined up a shot was Nathan Sharpe in his farewell.
Compare this norm to the relaxation of Krisnan Inu’s cheeky grins in the NRL. Relaxation produces fluency and artistry while tension produces tightness and restriction in technique.
Thurston provides huge entertainment through stylish goal-kicks that people come to watch.
He does not require a technique that is only about contact power and solely dependent on the ball retaining a straight trajectory.
Thurston displays a Warne-like craft in his goal-kicking that is missing from modern rugby and only because such close range goal attempts are less valued.
Rugby prides itself on the idea of a different body type for every position but this is becoming less and less true.
Take Hazem El Masri and consider his potential worth to rugby.
Here again, we have a small man who was made a giant through goal-kicking.
The three-point penalty would have seen El Masri unable to exist in a rugby world.
How many other genius goal-kickers have we never seen in rugby due to this? So why does rugby continue to evolve with one style of goal-kicking over another?
It’s not basketball for goodness sakes, there is no three-point shot line that states a kick is worth more from distance, but that is how it has evolved.
Rugby shouldn’t ever find itself rewarding power at the expense of artistry and do nothing.
Personally, I think one of the joys of either code is the side-line conversion. It is always more loved and celebrated than a 40-metre shot from in front and it suits television cameras and audiences perfectly.
It would be nice to see some goal-kicking genius emerge in rugby that is akin to Thurston but this is simply not going to happen under the current structure.
The bending conversion is always worth one point less than some bloke with a big boot who bangs it over from half way, so how could a Thurston-like technique ever hope to emerge in this game?
Why would a rugby goal-kicker spend such time and effort perfecting side-line attempts when he must develop a technique designed for power from distance?
I say make them (conversion and penalty goal) equal or encourage the Thurston artistry to emerge via reversing the reward of points – ie three-point conversions and two point penalty goals.
But for the love of rugby, how can any rugby fan seriously advocate this continued long-standing discrepancy without noticing that a sizeable gap has emerged between the codes in the department of goal-kicking?
I suggest a bit more ‘JT’ and a bit less ‘Bam Bam Dan’ please, (I’m sure you can tell I’m feeling the Bledisloe Cup losses heavily this year) but for this to occur, I cannot see another option than a change in the points system.
Rugby rewards power over artistry via discrimination in goal-kicking techniques and I see this as a valid reason for change.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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