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To improve rugby union as a spectator sport, they need to literally raise the bar… The crossbar that is.
The crossbar is currently three metres above the ground, as it has been since time immemorial.
But the modern ball is lighter than the traditional ball and today’s kickers have the luxury of using kicking tees rather than kicking off piles of sand or earth.
At the professional level they are full-time players who practice kicking without distraction, and have access to all sorts of technology to improve their techniques.
With the game’s rules having been unable to keep pace with the strength and mobility of the modern player, grey areas at the breakdown and scrum have seen some games turn into penalty kicking shootouts.
And why not, when a penalty is worth three points and a try only five?
As a result you get kickers attempting penalty goals from inside their own half. The clock doesn’t stop and the game becomes static and boring.
The NRC are experimenting with two points for a penalty and three points for a conversion, but the jury is still out on the effectiveness of such a change.
My suggestion is to raise the bar to six metres above the try line. You don’t have to remove the old crossbars, they can still be used for junior competitions.
The six-metre crossbar would limit the capacity to kick goals from more than 40 metres out. If that’s not the case, then raise the bar to seven metres and so on until teams would rather go for a try than attempt a shot at goal from any more than 35 to 40 metres out.
Repeated infringements could be dealt with through a more stringent usage of yellow cards.
I envisage more tries and less time watching goal kickers go through torturous and tedious tai chi-inspired goal-kicking routines.
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.