If I were Wallabies Coach Robbie Deans, I’d be buying new ARU CEO Bill Pulver lunch every day until he stumped up the cash for a dedicated kicking and skills coach to work within Australian rugby.
And once my new kicking coach was settled into his new office, I’d tell him to get out, and get around the five Super teams to improve their kick effectiveness.
Watching some teams’ kicking at the moment, I don’t think he’d spend a lot of time behind his desk.
Roar colleague, David Lord, was uplifting in his column over the weekend, espousing that the Waratahs “only put the boot to the ball 10 times in 80 minutes” in their 27-26 loss to the Cheetahs in Sydney on Friday night.
On the surface, there’s probably a lot to like about that figure in isolation, perhaps even more so for ‘Tahs fans who’ve been kicked into exasperation in recent seasons. There’s certainly no argument from me that the Waratahs most certainly are trying to run the ball more under new coach Michael Cheika.
But there is much more to it than just the number of kicks. Kicking in rugby is not necessarily bad thing. Bad kicking in rugby is the real issue there.
And unfortunately, this is one of few areas that Australia has excelled in recent seasons.
And without wanting to sink the slipper into the Waratahs – honestly – there is possibly no better example. “Aimless kicking” has been just as dirty a term for ‘Tahs fans as has “winning ugly”.
Berrick Barnes remains the go-to man as far as the ‘Tahs kicking. Restarts, clearances, ordinary grubbers; he delivered the vast majority of them for the 19 minutes he was on.
And there’s an obvious reason for this: he’s no cannon-boot, but Barnes is still the longest kick in the Tahs side.
While he was on, Barnes’ clearing kicks from in or around his own 22m line were generally always pushing toward the Cheetahs’ 22. Brendan McKibbin and particularly Bernard Foley couldn’t find that sort of distance after Barnes went off.
But distance is only one part of the issue. In truth, with the possible exception of Brumbies fullback, Jesse Mogg, there are no booming Chris Latham-esque punters in Australia currently.
The biggest issue for the Waratahs – just in terms of their kicking game – remains the effectiveness of those kicks, and perhaps this also a driver in why Cheika wants them to play more with ball in hand, aside from the obvious visual reasons.
How many times would you see them putting through grubber or chip kicks with no chasers, or with no-one really knowing the kick was coming?
How many times would you see clearing kicks going straight down the throat of the opposing covering players, which in turn allowed a return clearance under little or no pressure?
But this is where we can bring the other Australian teams into the equation, though. All the problems that applied to the Waratahs over the weekend, also applied to the Reds, Force and Brumbies, too.
And the Rebels wouldn’t have been exempt, either, had they played.
Quade Cooper’s kicking for the Reds was just one of a number of disappointing factors in his display on Saturday night, and Will Genia’s wasn’t a whole lot better for the forty minutes he played.
Both were guilty of rushed grubbers and chip kicks, of clearing kicks straight to fullbacks, and of not finding touch when either it might’ve been handy, or was most certainly required.
Genia, happily, isn’t overdoing the box kick just yet, but it is still early days in his return from injury
The Force used multiple kickers with mixed success. Alby Mathewson used the box kick reasonably well, and big Patty Dellit several times was able to get good distance on the clearance despite some bad angles.
Sias Ebersohn doesn’t possess a long kick out of the hand, though, and like Cooper, he was also regularly guilty of finding defenders and the touchline well short of where might’ve been useful.
The Brumbies, playing on a wet evening in Durban, did resort to their kicking game once the rain set in after half time, but they do have the aforementioned distance advantage that Mogg brings.
The Brumbies will still guilty of consistently finding the covering Sharks, but considering they already had the bonus point win secured by that stage, and that the Sharks showed no signs of coming back, the Brumbies were never punished.
Hence, in all cases above, the alternative to the ineffective kicking game is coming through. Either by design, or by on-field recognition, all the Australian teams showed a preference to run the ball a lot more over the weekend than we’ve grown used to.
In what was as clinical a first half from the Brumbies since maybe even the 2004 Final, the ACT side showed in the first half against the Sharks that ball runners coming from depth – backs or forwards – can make ground just as easily as a reliance on kicking can.
The Force, too, had good success both up the middle and around the fringes with their support runners.
And perhaps this is what Robbie Deans needs to act on when the inevitable rejection of his kicking coach request comes through.
If the Australian teams are now looking to run the ball more, then you would hope that the Wallabies might want to play this way too.
Especially if, on form at least, there is much turnover of personnel in the backline as we might expect.
A running game is never going to eradicate the kicking game, but it might, and indeed should negate the reliance on kicking for the sake of kicking.
Sadly it is not my work mate, I was actually looking for one a South African Prop wrote many years ago, it is rather humourous, but found this one instead.
Riccardo
Guest
Love your work Biltong :)
Ra
Guest
Mania I use to lay it on the line with my players, all backs no matter who they are should be able to kick equally well off both feet at rep level, or dont bother showing up. Amazingly, the frontrowers would initially cane them in kicking drills.I wasn't too bad myself, but then I'm in the front row club so it's expected.
apelu
Guest
Brett, I was expecting you to write an epic about that wonderful first-half performance of near perfect rugby by the Brums against the highly rated Sharks last Sunday morning, not kicking. If the shark players and coaches were schocked and in awe, surely, a proud Brumby should not feel shy to pen a few lines in praise of a perfromanace that was truly magical and heavenly. So go on. Write it down, and I'll see you when at a team training session when they return.
Sandgroper
Guest
OK that's it Chivas, we are in violent agreement about all you raise. Fijians and Samoans are indeed built like hardwood fence posts not the treated pine these days. Fijians ARE all loosies and wingers (and great to have on YOUR team) ACCURATE kicking is the key (I think that was what Brett was on about at the start of this post) I would like to see a more collegiate coaching style between coaches instead of the constant jockeying. The stand out so far is the outsider Jake White. I agree about we get what we deserve too. Next time you are in Perth I'll shout you a decent scotch not that Chivas lolly water. Still waiting for a response from the big guns...perhaps they have a real job :-)
winston
Roar Rookie
Aus are really lacking good kickers at the moment. ABs have DC and Dagg, Saffas have never been short on good kickers. But with Aus I would have to go back to Latham and Larkham. And that's a fair while back. Its an essential skill that you ignore at your own peril. QC has an awesome offensive kick to his wingers but that's where his kicking skills stop.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
That's because Barnes is a Deans favourite
Chivas
Guest
Why aren't you offended :-). Anyway you know what I meant was including myself in the lower grades and by that meaning I didn't get paid a salary or play full-time. Fijians are all wingers and loose forwards. When I played Samoa (Western Samoa then) a while ago when Peter Fats propping for them, it was a bruising affair and putting your fears aside about tackling fence posts is a big hurdle and they run fast too. But they need to slow it down if they don't get control and sometimes that causes a penalty if it is a lolly scramble on the ground which means your team may be back further than where you started and they have the ball. But that can go either way if they are hanging on and you have enough numbers to terrorize them. Normally as I say you want your loosies getting there pretty fast too. Anyway, just my opinion :-). Accurate kicking both creates pressure and relieves it. I think that is what playing what is in front of you means. If defence is rushing up a chip is effective, if you are the one rushing up, not so effective unless you have run at a half gap and there is not much behind. These guys are all professional enough to know how to weight a kick properly, but they are turning over a lot of ball and neither relieving or creating pressure. That is my issue. I'm not a coach, but I'm sure they would be coaching tactics and what needs to be considered in detail. Which is why I am in a bit of a quandary as to why this is such a problem at this S15 level and higher. Personally as an aside I am surprised the Wallabies are as effective and coherent as they are considering there structures are so weak across the board compared to NZ and SA in particular. I also think Deans has contributed a lot to Australian rugby as I do all the other S15 coaches, but I am a bit saddened by some of the inane comments of roarers and the internal bickering amongst coaches, like Ewen McKenzies current passive aggressive comments regarding leaving the Reds. Ultimately I guess Australian rugby will get what it wants and deserves, depending on the decisions they make all which are outside of my control :-). Same for every other team.
sixo_clock
Roar Guru
Oh yeah Sheek, we are agreeing, when an aimless, pointless kick occurs the opposition must take heart as it sends the message that they are in for an easy game up front. Any attempt to scatter the forwards is dumb Rugby, giving back the pill outside of the 22 is dumb Rugby. Most sides can recover and kick it back or win a lineout so... why?
dcnz
Guest
I just hope the Kurtley Beale chip it through grubber kick is killed off this year. I go for the ABs but I would rather see the ball go out to the Wallaby wingers, or maybe an inside pass back to Christian Lealifano, the new Wallaby 10 this year.
Sandgroper
Guest
so Chivas what you are saying is that it can be done. In saying it only works in lower grades(lucky I am not offended easily which is unusual for an ex slow back), you then tell me two no name ABs :-) actually used it in living memory. I guess the Fijian wing looks a lot like a loose forward. I started the thought process at the point of why one kick chaser won't work. I will watch this week's games to see who steals my good idea! Damn Roarers are smart people. They should call us in to solve their selection and tactics problems eh?
Chivas
Guest
It works except when the chasers can't get there, because the opposition wings come in and it also fail as you are down to one last line defender unless you have someone else drop back and then you have big holes to exploit. For lower grade rugby it works well because mostly the opposition aren't well drilled enough to compensate. That is not to say it doesn't work, but you need to trap the opposition have a couple of forwards get there rather than two wingers. And that is deployed successfully by teams. You just need a couple of strong fast back rowers who know what is going on. Michael Jones and Kronfield were used effectively to do this for the AB's.
Chivas, just for you mate. "Front Row: Without a doubt the manliest men on the pitch. Large, often hairy, beer swilling carnivores that can and will smash anything in their path. Reveling in the violence inherent in the scrum, they are rarely considered "nice" people, and in fact to some they aren't even considered humans at all. Front rowers tolerate this attitude far and wide because they recognize their role at the top of the food chain and are used to suffering the fools that surround them. Accused by some of simply being dumb, I prefer to think of this group as "open to unconventional ways of thinking." Locks: Slightly below the front row on the food chain. As with front row players it is inadvisable to put an appendage you wish to keep near this group's maw when they are in the feeding mode. This group of large, often foul-smelling brutes is also more than willing to relish the finer points of stomping on a fallen opponent's body and will gleefully recount the tale ad infinitum. While they tend to take the tag "Powerhouse of the Scrum" a little too seriously, they can be useful if inured with the proper hatred of their fellow man. While members of this proud fraternity like to think of themselves as "open to unconventional ways of thinking"- they are usually just dumb. Back Row: These are fine, fit fellows who, like a bunch of hermaphrodites, are confused as to what their role in life should be. While they know they are undeniably linked to the forwards, there are those among them who long for the perfect hair and long flowing gowns that come with being a back. Some relish the forward role and will do anything to win the ball and there are others within this group that will break the prime directive of the forward and do anything to prance foolishly with the ball. Generally, these guys are not all bad, but I, personally, have to wonder about any forward who brings a hairbrush and a change of clothes to a game. Scrum Half: Some like to think of this back as an honorary forward. I myself tend to think of the No. 9 as half a fairy. While the toughest back almost always fills this position, this idea is almost laughable - kind of like the hottest fat chick. The scrum half's presence is tolerated by the forwards because they know that he will spin the ball to the rest of the girls in the backline who will inevitably knock the ball on and allow them the pleasure of another scrum. The No. 9 can take pride in the fact that he is the lowest numbered back and that as such he can be considered almost worthwhile. Fly Half: His primary role is the leader of the backs - a dubious honor at best. Main responsibilities as far as I can tell are ability to throw the ball over people's heads and to provide something soft for opposing back rowers to land on. Expected to direct the prancing of the rest of the backline - the fly half, like any good Broadway choreographer, is usually light on his feet. While some may argue that these girls must be protected, I find it hard to support anyone whose foot touches a rugby ball on purpose. Centers: Usually come in two varieties: hard chargers or flitting fairies. The hard charger is the one to acquire, as he will announce his presence in a game with the authority rarely found above No. 8. The flitting fairy is regrettably more common and will usually attempt to avoid contact at all costs. The flitting fairy is also only one good smack away from bursting into tears and leaving the pitch to cry on the shoulder of his inevitable girlfriend. Both types will have extensive collections of hair care products in their kit bags and will be among the best dressed at the post-game festivities. Back 3: While some people refer to this group as two wingers and a fullback, I swear to God I can't make out any difference between them. They are all bleeping bleeps if you ask me. How these three guys can play 90 minutes of RUGBY and stay clean and sweat free is beyond me. I know for a fact that their jerseys sometimes go back in the bag cleaner than when they came out. These ladies are fond of sayings like "Speed Kills" and "Wheels Win" - how cute. Well, I have a saying too: it's "You're a bleeping bleep!!" These guys will be easy to spot after the game because they are the finely coifed, sweater wearin', wine sippin', sweet-talkers in the corner avoiding the beer swilling curs at the bar. On the whole, I really don't mind this group because in the end, they sure are purty to look at.
Rebel
Guest
Not when kicking for goal. Only time you see a torp then is when they are about 70m out after the siren. Drop kicks are used for accuracy with less risk.
soapit
Guest
barnes wasnt the quickest option either but he got a run there
Justin2
Guest
that's true but drop punts are the most accurate kick too which as we have been seeing is a large issue fir Australia
BetterRedThanDead
Guest
Ha ha - touche
Stin
Guest
Every time I see Mick Byrne standing behind Daniel Carter my eart breaks a little. He's a great kicking coach and it feels like he has helped everyone but his native Australia. Waste.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
oh I am just shaking my head now, Brett ;)
Dasher
Roar Guru
In 2009, the Reds had a fullback named Marc McLinden. He wasn't a world-beater but he actually topped the run metres of everybody in Super 14 that year because he never* kicked it. As an ex-league fullback, he'd just run the kick-returns back into the forwards where they'd secure the ball for the next phase. In most cases, he could make it back almost to where the kicker had kicked it. Sure you can throw out that the Reds were paltry that year, but that tactic was certainly instrumental in their successful attack plans of 2010 and 2011. *I'm sure he kicked occasionally, but as a last resort.