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Drop goal

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Tom007

Academy Player
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Nov 21, 2020
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think the England Defence is hovering in the off side all the time time the Irish were just been battered We had over 60 percent of the ball and never once Took a drop goal. Think that weapon is not used enough In elite rugby they Should be Bread and butter to modern half back to score 3point instead of going for the 5all the time. Ur not going to batter ur way over the line With a team as stronghold as England especially when the referee give the player going forward with the ball very little protection he has to release as soon as he touched nearly .
 
There were several drop goals in Super Rugby Aotearoa. I like 'em!
 
I'm a huge fan of the drop goal. It's an indispensable weapon. I think coaches and players have become more stupid by it's non-use.
 
There were also a few drop goals in Super Rugby Unlocked.

If fly halves practice drop goals, and have that skill in their arsenal, it's a very potent weapon. But if the player isn't too confident in taking the chance, he basically gives away posession, and territory...
 
....it's a skill like any other that can be practised. It's a great way of building scoreboard pressure and also gives defences something else to think about.

If you miss it the worst that happens is that you regain possession from the 22.

In this era of death by analysis it astonishes me that coaches consistently overlook a method of scoring. Not every team is quite so clinical from 5 yards out as Exeter.

There were a couple of World Cup finals where they came in quite handy. Larkham in a semi, Andrew in a quarter, de Beer in a quarter and Guscott sealing a Lions series win are others that spring immediately to mind. That these are all 20 years ago says everything about group think and nothing about how useful a drop can be, especially in a tight game.
 
Old Hooker said:
....it's a skill like any other that can be practised. It's a great way of building scoreboard pressure and also gives defences something else to think about.

If you miss it the worst that happens is that you regain possession from the 22.

In this era of death by analysis it astonishes me that coaches consistently overlook a method of scoring. Not every team is quite so clinical from 5 yards out as Exeter.

There were a couple of World Cup finals where they came in quite handy. Larkham in a semi, Andrew in a quarter, de Beer in a quarter and Guscott sealing a Lions series win are others that spring immediately to mind. That these are all 20 years ago says everything about group think and nothing about how useful a drop can be, especially in a tight game.
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The worst isn't always a 22 Drop out... It mainly depends on where the ball lands when it's not going through the uprights. If the defending team catches it they can kick it back to win territory, or keep it in hand an launch a counterattack from within their own 22.... Which could even lead to a try being scored against you.

There were 6 Drop goals at last years RWC. And some of them were also match winners. Camille Lopez vs Argentina, Biggar and Patchel's dropped goals against Australia.

And in 2015, Handre Pollard knocked one over against Wales during the QF to help SA qualify for the Semi's...
 
Ireland weren't even kicking our penalties, drop goals weren't anywhere in our mind. But yeah, definitely something we should have looked at and a very valuable weapon, especially in knockout rugby. Any outhalf worth their salt who wants to play in the world cup should be able to knock one over from 20 yards. It's a difficult skill so when you're further out it's never going to be 100% reliable, but I would like to see it used more than the last minute chance saloon it's usually confined to.

As for Saturday, I understand that Ireland were probably trying to score tries given that it wasn't a hugely important game but once it was clear that wasn't working we should have changed tack and started trying to build a score. Penalties are a part of that but it also means trying a drop goal when you have the territory and possession like we did but can't break the opposition down. As others have said worst thing that happens is you get the ball back in a not entirely dissimilar position to the one you had it in.
 
As I recall there was a quite important drop goal a few years ago in a WC final between England and Aus, I struggle to remember his name was it John or Wilks or something like that. At the right moment it can be devastating, you rarely see a 10 in the pocket anymore.
 
Mikey12 said:
As I recall there was a quite important drop goal a few years ago in a WC final between England and Aus, I struggle to remember his name was it John or Wilks or something like that. At the right moment it can be devastating, you rarely see a 10 in the pocket anymore.
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Jonny Wilkinson

Some consider him one of the best because he did a ice cold thing but really any back can kick behind a ruck or maul plus he was a fairly weak tackler and was not an outstanding athlete/thread or playmaker. I did a highlight reel test like Maradona, trust me.

I guess you could say he was a safe pair of hands but got skittled a lot in defence, can you remember that guy doing anything outside of the ice cold thing? That said John would have looked a lot stronger if he had a quality team around him.
 
Umm ... what a weird post. I don't think Serge Betsen or many other players that ran down Jonny's channel though he was a 'fairly weak tackler' ... 'skittled'? Almost never.

He wasn't really a 'highlight reel' player but he was 100% world class. Yes, some aspects of his game weren't as strong as others, but I'd argue he's one of the strongest 10s ever from a defensive POV.
 
BPM said:
Umm ... what a weird post. I don't think Serge Betsen or many other players that ran down Jonny's channel though he was a 'fairly weak tackler' ... 'skittled'? Almost never.

He wasn't really a 'highlight reel' player but he was 100% world class. Yes, some aspects of his game weren't as strong as others, but I'd argue he's one of the strongest 10s ever from a defensive POV.
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I think there's an entire thread on St Jonny that you've missed
 
I can guarantee every team he played against was really happy when he was not on the field.
 
Drop goals have contributed to some of the most dramatic moments in Rugby Union and are a very efficient way of keeping the score board ticking over. I remember in the early noughties doing battle on the old 606 chat with every non Englishman banging on about all Wilkinson was good for was drop goals and penalties and England only took drop goals because they couldn't score tries etc etc. The fact was they just knew if England got into their 22 it was 7 points if they couldn't stop a try and 3 points if they could. Must have hurt...
 

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