Kicking ourselves
2 May 2006
Keo, in his Business Day column, writes that kicking accuracy cost SA four Super 14 wins at the weekend. And it could cost SA even more as the year unfolds.
It was probably SA’s best collective rugby effort for a couple of seasons, but better goal kicking would have ensured better results.
Cynics will counter the praise with a claim that the horse has already bolted in this year’s competition, but the performances at the weekend went further than Super 14 play-offs. The good was in all the South African teams showing they can play rugby for 80 minutes, and that they can combine physical intensity with skill. The bad involved continued goal-kicking flaws.
It took skill from the Cats and Cheetahs to keep the ball alive for two minutes after the hooter and to force a try that set both of them up for victory. Had Andre Pretorius and Meyer Bosman kicked more accurately, we’d be talking of two fantastic injury-time wins. Had Willem de Waal been more successful with his goal kicking early on, it would not have come down to an injury-time conversion kick.
Goal kicking has, ordinarily, been the one strength of South African teams. When South African sides have lacked skill, they’ve always had goal kickers. When they could not score five pointers, they had no problem knocking over three pointers.
This season it has been the opposite. The Sharks have shown completeness in their game when conjuring up tries. The Bulls on Saturday provided evidence that they can move the ball around, while the Stormers finally played with the authority you’d expect.
The Cheetahs, in their first Super 14 season, have always been capable of scoring tries, and even the Cats turned promise into five pointers against the Force.
The goal kicking has not been good. In fact, it has been awful at times, and the misses have been decisive. Morne Steyn hit the posts from right in front against the Chiefs. Steyn also missed a sideline conversion that would have taken the Bulls past the Reds in Brisbane.
Pretorius and Bosman missed kicks to win games at the weekend, Percy Montgomery had a couple of misses in the one-point defeat against the Cheetahs and Peter Grant’s miss against the Chiefs was also a turning point.
Grant, who has the benefit of tutorship with Western Province and Stormers kicking coach Louis Koen, has improved his general accuracy, but his kicking game is still in the evolutionary stage.
Vlok Cilliers, who operates a kicking school, is linked with the Bulls’ kickers, but there is no nationally appointed mentor. Naas Botha flirts with the concept every now and again, but he has never taken on the role with a full-time interest.
The lack of a kicking mentor at national level is a weakness because had South African rugby enjoyed the services of such an expert, he could have been working with Pretorius and Bosman and one point misses could easily have been victories.
Pretorius and Bosman, assured of being two of Jake White’s three Bok flyhalves, have to be kicking at a minimum of 75%. Currently they are not. The decision to also relegate Montgomery to second-choice kicker at the Sharks is a concern nationally. Montgomery’s career goal-kicking peaks have coincided with him being given the responsibility as the starting kicker. The more he kicks the better he is.
Ideally, you want a situation where a nationally appointed kicking coach has the luxury of spending time with the leading kickers. The provincial coaches get the benefit of this service.
Defences win Test matches, but defensive solidity has to come packaged with a goal kicker who achieves a strike rate of 80% over a period of time and rarely drops below 75% in a match.
When Australia hosted England in the 2003 World Cup final, Jonny Wilkinson and Elton Flatley were the only kickers to average 80% throughout the tournament. Wilkinson, at the peak of his powers, averaged 90% in the four years England dominated world rugby.
Dan Carter is closer to 80% than 75% for the All Blacks and Montgomery in 2004 experienced his best-yet international goal-kicking season with a strike rate in the high 70s. Last year he dropped to the high 60s and some of the misses, as in Paris, contributed to the defeat.
Goal kicking will be significant to next year’s World Cup challenge, and SA is off the pace in this regard. It is a specialised field and it needs a full-time specialist.
Too few in this country acknowledge this, and until it is addressed SA could be left kicking themselves at the World Cup.
155 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 3 [4] Show All
2 May 2006, 21:22 pm
I havent read ALL the posts but why is it that nobody mentions Tony Brown’s poor kicking record here in SA. If he was justifying the relegation of percy from kicking duties by having a great strike rate ,it would be understandable somewhat,but he is not He misses alot.
Ig ,any idea of what his % is?
I find SA commentators and writers seem loath to slam a foreigner just concentrate on our boys. he is a shark now and has been good in other aspects but kicking is a huge part of his expectation for the Sharks and he has missed a lot of easy ones too.
Pretoriuses was from the corner,he hasnt plaeye much rugby in a while. It was crucial but he can be forgiven as it was not an eas kick. Bosmans was abit easier. To really put your hand up ,you MUST make these kicks….mortlock does nearly every time he HAS to….and he’s not even 1st choice kicker but he is blessed with Huge match temperament.
Just wondering why dear tony isnt caled a spade too. Yes he wont be a bok ,but still.We like to slag ourselves off.
I do totally agree that our kicking has not been good enough thru all the franhises.
2 May 2006, 22:40 pm
Paging miss A.N Dolly …
Miss ANNE Dolly …
Paging A Dolly …
Any Dolly will do ….
3 May 2006, 05:05 am
The reason the SA kickers do not collect the extra two points every time a try is scored is that the SA backs are coached to dot down as soon as they cross the line, no matter how far out wide they may be. The coaches are all quite terrified that the player will drop the ball, knock on or have some or other brain explosion between crossing the goal line and dotting the ball down.
If the line-crossers brought the ball in closer to the uprights, it would make all the difference to the goal-kickers.
3 May 2006, 05:53 am
Post 153 Na du. Me thinks you have run out of **** stirring things to say .But keep it up cause it makes you look like an even bigger ***.
3 May 2006, 11:44 am
Can we assume then that you are fully in favour of the prevailing South African philosophy that a line-crosser had to dot the ball down right where he crossed the line and to make no attempt to bring the ball in any closer to the uprights?
Pages: « 1 2 3 [4] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.