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Spiro Zavos has a long association with rugby, so his knowledge and experience must be respected. But he’s wrong about the value of drop goals.
His opinion is right in that “Kicking drop goals is an unrated skill”, as it’s near impossible to rate the tension, field and weather conditions, and game-balance circumstances.
Even place kicks are a tough nut to crack, but factor in the more difficult snap of the drop-goal, distances and run-defence pressure, and the computer rolls over at the thought of calculation.
Just because Australia are rubbish at it – mostly always have been – doesn’t mean it should be scrapped or downgraded.
The drop goal is part of the game, always has been. It’s part of the panopoly of scoring options available to a team and, as such, is there to be harvested by a competent team. It’s especially vital in a game which is tight, which it often is in Test rugby union – and was in South Africa vs Australia.
There have been some cracking examples of game breaking or winning drop-goal attempts. Think Stephen Larkham’s classic pearler in the 1999 World Cup.
There have also been many examples of teams not attempting a drop-goal, usually where they think they can do better and score a try, or simply because they don’t have the skill set. Wales versus 13 Australians thought they had good chances to score a try, when a drop-goal or two might have been a better option.
I acknowledge and agree with Spiro’s point that rugby is commercial entertainment and people prefer tries to goal – of any description. But I disagree that people don’t want to see drop goals, citing “booing from Australian and New Zealand fans… when a player shapes up to kick one.”
As Spiro acknowledged, “The home crowd were ecstatic when [Morne] Steyn did his thing”. It’s a precision skill, executed under pressure. What more do you want?
The Aussie crowds may boo, but that’s possibly because their team seemingly cannot do it. A lot also reckon penalties should be worth fewer points, likely because they can’t kick them either. Or conversions.
And the New Zealand crowd boo everything these days, especially if it’s done by the opposition. If they value, respect and want to watch great skill, then why would they boo Quade Cooper in his pomp? No, they’re just highly partisan.
Crowds may be down in Australia because there are not enough tries, but it’s not because there are too many drop goals. Crowds are up in Europe, where the drop goal is a more utilised scoring technique. The stadia are jam-packed in England – Bath has a full house every week and nearly every week George Ford pops in a droppie.
The value seems right to me – same as a penalty, but you don’t have to wait two minutes to see it kicked. You don’t have to wait ten fouls at the breakdown, hope to get lucky with a referee call, or have a power-scrum to get one. It’s a tougher skill and the opposition get a chance to close it down.
Yes, a try would be nice, but if you’re in the red zone, you want to be coming away with something. If you can snap three points, isn’t that a reward for getting there in the first place? It’s not an option all the time, but when it is available, I’d like my team to consider it. It’s a skill that takes planning, training, set-up and ice-cold execution.
Why continue to bang away against a brick wall defence when rugby offers a decent option to go over it for three points? A chip to the corner, a wee grubber through, a cheaky dink – all good options requiring great skill, but often these are a 50-50 option, resulting in a five or seven-pointer. Why not try to take the three if you can?
It’s nothing to do with luck. No one’s forcing you to do it. It’s not an easy thing to do, or there would be a lot more of them about.
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.