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It is not easy to look good in a side that is losing regularly. It is even more difficult to catch the eye of the national selectors. Nonetheless, Kyle Godwin will have done exactly that in the Force’s losing visit to Canberra last Saturday.
Godwin was hailed as the ‘wunderkind’ of Australian rugby back in 2013-14, but a series of injury setbacks stalled his development into Australia’s premier inside centre, one which seemed as natural as it was inevitable.
The Zimbabwe-born playmaker had no trouble in providing ample material for a highlight reel three years ago, as this video compilation shows:
All the spectacular ‘show-time’ quality is there, from the terrific hands and offloads to the ability to see space ahead of time and throw an accurate 25-metre pass off the left hand.
When a player comes back from a succession of injuries, his on-field presence can be a lot more muted, and there is an unconscious wariness of the same events playing out again. Kyle Godwin is no exception to that rule. His performance against the Brumbies contained relatively little of the obvious star quality in the highlight reel.
Yet on lifting the lid and digging a bit deeper, there was a consistency in the small and unobtrusive details of Godwin’s work that the Wallaby selectors will find appealing.
With Kurtley Beale and Matt Toomua heading to Europe, Matt Giteau already there, and Karmichael Hunt currently on a long injury lay-off, the queue to Michael Cheika’s door for playmaking 12s is not exactly a long and winding one.
Godwin has a unique combination of size and skills. At 95 kilograms, he can handle the physical aspects of the position, but he potentially has the best kick, run and pass balance of any of the long-term contenders for inside centre.
Above all else he is left-sided, with a quality passing and kicking game off the left hand and boot that the Wallabies sorely missed during the June Test series against England.
Godwin’s stats were impressive against the Brumbies:
The stats describe a solid performance from Godwin, with one involvement every 100 seconds, and one clearly positive contribution every four-and-a-half minutes. 35 per cent of Godwin’s involvements were either superior or dominant.
There was only one error – a partial missed tackle on Tevita Kuridrani from first phase lineout. Godwin also conceded one penalty, for offside on the interception, but as we shall see that was an error by the officiating crew! So he has to be considered to possess strong discipline over the piece.
Defensive security is a prize bonus for a playmaking 12, and it is here that Godwin may help out the Wallaby coaches, who up until now have been dropping their 12s into the tramlines at lineout time.
Godwin makes his tackles in the middle of the field, and is able to make all three of the major tackle types equally well. He also cleans out efficiently on own breakdowns, particularly on opponents who can be classified as ‘tough’ – forwards or strong on-ball backs like Matt Toomua.
The impact of Godwin’s left-sided bias is startling. Four of his passes and all five kicks were off the left hand or foot, and both clean breaks were engineered off that side.
A surprising picture emerges given the visual impact of the spectacular YouTube highlight reel – that of a player with high work-rate who has the discipline to play well in all the small situations, is consistent on defence, and operates smoothly and effectively on what is the ‘wrong’ side for most players.
This is not a flash player, but someone who is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good of the team.
Let’s take a detailed look at some of Godwin’s involvements, firstly his contributions on attack:
The positional and exit kicking option
Godwin has real power in his left boot. The first example, at 16:18, showcases his ability to kick out of the backfield – despite the narrow angle, he punts the ball 50 metres straight down the five-metre corridor and forces the receiver backwards in order to take the ball.
At 59:49 he appears at first receiver on the left side of the field, putting through an accurate positional kick to the Brumbies’ 22m line.
Left-side effectiveness
Godwin’s natural ability to play out of first receiver on the left side of a breakdown would give Australia natural balance in their attacks. 75:04 highlights his ability to appear there and use his left foot to unlock a rushing defensive line.
The chip over the top into no man’s land is collected by Dane Haylett-Petty, but Haylett-Petty makes the wrong decision at the first ruck (75:15). If he had looked to the short-side on his left he would have seen a 5-3 overlap, with Godwin again moving up at first receiver.
Godwin’s pass off the left hand at 70:00 is perfectly weighted to open up the attacking options for Ben Tapuai. It is not too far in front to pull him straight on to Toomua, and he is able to take the ball in stride without being checked. This may seem like a skill which most Test inside backs would possess automatically, but this is far from the case!
In this instance, with the Brumbies’ wing moving up past the ball, Tapuai’s chances of winning the one-on-one with Toomua have been greatly magnified by the quality of the pass from Godwin.
Attacking cleanout
The cleanout is one of the most impressive ‘small detail’ aspects of Godwin’s game. At 0:55 he slows down in order to enter the tackle area at the perfect angle, removing a much bigger man (Scott Sio) with apparent ease.
The process is repeated with even greater authority at 14:08, with Godwin shifting sideways to avoid over-running the ball-carrier and removing Toomua quickly, even after he’s established in a stable, low position over the ball.
At 41:40, Mike Wells, the Brumbies No.8, is shifted off the point of contact immediately, producing an instant ruck delivery.
Reading the play and high work-rate
Godwin reads play accurately and works hard to get into the right position to make a real contribution. At 42:12 he runs the perfect decoy line, penetrating the gap between Scott Fardy and Christian Lealiifano without drawing the foul, and with the timing to ensure that he is a receiving option as he goes through the line.
As a result, three Brumbies defenders are pulled inside and away from the true target – Luke Morahan running a wide arc towards the corner flag.
At 37:29 he works back to get onside to chase Haylett-Petty’s high punt (failing by about half a metre!) and accelerates into the target space quicker than either of the two Brumbies defenders (Toua and Kuridrani), who have been gifted a head-start, and way ahead of any other Force chasers.
Godwin saw the opportunity developing off the kick quicker than anyone else on the field.
The same good reads are present in defence. In the still images below, Godwin realises the danger brewing as Aidan Toua moves into midfield first receiver on the Brumbies’ left side – he has his arm out and is pointing to the area of attack on the other side of the field:
As it turns out, Toua receives the ball and makes the break anyway.
It is the same combination of reading ability and work-rate which enables Godwin to make the recovery tackle on Tomas Cubelli in the sequence beginning at 25:12 from the following defensive highlight reel:
When the shot widens out after Rory Arnold makes the break at 25:15, Godwin is one of the furthest Force defenders away from the ball in midfield near the halfway line. After Cubelli receives the ball, Godwin streaks past all of his teammates to take the Puma scrum-half down from the blind-side and disrupt the attack.
The opening sequence at 3:00 shows Godwin’s one missed tackle of the match, on Tevita Kuridrani from first-phase lineout – although Kuridrani is arguably more Jono Lance’s man than Godwin’s. Godwin slots into third defender in time to make a frontal tackle on Rory Arnold, one of the Brumbies’ heaviest ball-carriers, on the next phase.
The following driving maul sequence illustrates Godwin’s ability to run to the ball, and make a tackle on a fast back running away from him. When Toua receives the ball out wide at 46:39 he has eight metres in which to wind up to full speed before hitting the Force defensive line.
Godwin is in perfect position, having bumped off Lealiifano as he runs through after making the pass, and makes the ideal ‘reach’ tackle at 46:41 to bring the ACT fullback to earth.
The final clip, at 48:03, replays the incident where Godwin was right and the referee (and his touchline assistant?) was wrong. Godwin is clearly two or three metres behind the last foot of the ruck when the ball is played at 48:05, and no new offside line is set in the play thereafter, until Godwin intercepts Matt Toomua’s pass at 48:12. Godwin’s breakout run should have been allowed to continue!
Summary
Kyle Godwin’s star temporarily disappeared behind a cloud after a string of injuries in recent seasons, and his play since coming back this season displays the understated character typical of a player in that situation.
But the understated aspects of his play are very, very good. The ability at cleanout, in reading the play offensively and defensively, and the work-rate on both sides of the ball are all first class.
Above all, Godwin is capable of filling the left-side first receiver role the Wallabies need so urgently. He has an excellent left boot and passes off his left hand accurately, and he is a ‘triple threat’ attacker who can kick, run and pass with equal facility.
Godwin’s presence would also encourage a more orthodox defensive stance from set-piece, because he would not have to be moved into the tramlines at lineout. So the midfield could then be Bernard Foley and Godwin, with one of Samu Kerevi, Kuridrani or Israel Folau picked at 13.