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Opinion
England coach Simon Middleton kicked off a heated debate when he suggested women’s rugby rules should be changed to allow goal-kicking conversions from out wide to be taken closer to the posts.
His idea has been shouted down in some quarters, applauded in others, but it’s clear his intention was to help the women’s game.
“Any try outside the 15-metre line they could potentially bring it [the conversion] to within the 15-metre line,” he mused. “If you think about things that could change the game positively, it’s a bit of an unfair game for female kickers because so much about goalkicking relies on power.”
His team has been struggling with kicks from the sideline during the Six Nations but after three straight wins by a combined 185-15, it’s hardly a major concern.
England’s Holly Aitchison kicks during the Women’s Six Nations. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
Middleton’s idea is not totally without merit and received support from captain Marlie Packer but at a time when sport is trying to close the gender gap and create a level playing field for all, modifying rules like goal-kicking in rugby to make it easier for female players is not the answer.
It’s like when you do push-ups on your knees instead of the point of your toes, no one respects that.
The solution to the rugby goal-kicking issue will occur naturally as more resources are funnelled into the women’s game.
Better coaching, improved strength and conditioning, and more game time will inevitably lead to more female rugby players being able to boot the ball over from the sideline.
It’s similar to cricket. Not that long ago, a criticism you would often hear was that the batters lacked the power hitting that would wow spectators.
As the professionalism in the sport has increased, so has the athleticism and strength of the players and batters are not only clearing the ropes but putting spectators in peril by sending sixes over the fences.
Goal-kicking is clearly a problem in the NRLW as well with conversion rates well below the NRL statistics.
In last year’s NRLW, Parramatta were the only team to land goals at a better rate than two out of three at 71%.
The Roosters and Titans were on 64% and the Knights struck at 62% while the Dragons (47%) and Broncos (28%) missed more than they kicked.
In the NRL this year, only two teams – Newcastle (61%) and St George Illawarra (60%) – are below the two out of three benchmark. Every other team is above 70% with Canberra at an astonishing 96% from sharpshooters Jamal Fogarty and Jarrod Croker.
Irrespective of the gender on the field, there is something gloriously flawed about the fairness of the two points from a conversion in the rugby codes.
A team can barge over from close range next to the posts with little skill or effort and get full points from a try and conversion.
But if the ball goes through several sets of hands or there’s a kick involved and the winger dives over in the corner after diving to beat the defence, there is a strong chance the points from the try will be all they get.
Is there an alternative? Naaah.
No one wants the predictable tedium of American football where the extra point for the conversion from right in front is a chance for the fans to take a toilet break.
Gridiron started out more than 150 years ago as a bastardised form of rugby and soccer, scoring a touchdown would earn two points with the conversion adding four more. A field goal was worth five.
They flipped the scoring system late in the 1800s to make the touchdown the main source of points, eventually becoming six with an extra point conversion, with three for a field goal.
The Rugby School’s unique “laws of football” drawn up in 1845 decreed that teams could earn a “try” (without getting rewarded on the scoreboard) at a goal by touching the ball down between the posts.
They then had to take the ball in line with either goalpost, but not between, for a place-kick (not a drop-kick) and Rule 5 clearly states “no goal may be kicked from touch”.
Tries were treated like throw-ins at a soccer gala day when the rules were updated a few decades later – if an equal amount of goals are scored, the team with the most tries wins on countback.
It wasn’t until the Cheltenham School rules were adopted in 1886 that you could get a measly point for scoring a try. Thankfully that was doubled five years later, then increased to three in 1905, four in 1971 and five in 1992.
Rugby league started at three for a try and upped it to four in 1983 and has never seriously contemplated rising to five, which is a good thing because the two codes need to remain as distinct as possible from each other.
With the successful introduction of the two-point field goal in the NRL, should rugby perhaps consider a similar way of thinking – make field goals worth two unless they’re booted from 40m out to earn the full three on offer? Same rules for men and women, of course. Just an idea.