When I was young, there was virtually zero coaching of kicking, you could either do it, or you couldn’t. So, I’ve tried to put together a kicking guide containing the information that I wish I had known when I was an up and coming fly half, my game would have been way better I’m sure.
This ‘how to’ kicking skills guide will cover, the: place kick, spiral/torpedo kick, drop kick, grubber kick, chip kick, ‘up and under’, and the drop punt.
How To Place Kick
A vital method of putting points on the board. Three points to punish an opponent’s penalty infringement and two points for converting a try. A good goal kicker is worth their weight in gold. Here’s a summary of how to place kick:
Place the ball on a kicking tee pointing the seam towards a target behind the posts. Take 2-4 steps backwards on a 30-45 degree angle. Approach the ball placing the non kicking foot half a hips width alongside the ball with the arm nearest the goal out sideways for balance. The kicking foot swings through the ball towards the target.
Now, here’s the detailed version of how to place kick:
1. Place The Ball
Place the ball on a kicking tee with the seam pointing towards the target and the valve pointing either upwards or downwards, Never to the side. Obviously, if you have pointing to the side it can create an imbalance in flight of the ball.
2. Pick A Target
At this point you also need to pick a target to aim at which is not the posts, i.e. you need to aim for something fixed and not moving 20-30 metres through the posts. This could be a parked car, an advertising board or whatever.
3. Mark Your Run Up
Next, place the non kicking foot half a hips width to the side of the ball and then take two to four steps backwards and two to four steps to the side depending on your preference. Generally, a wider approach will yield more power and a straighter approach is more for accuracy over shorter distances.
4. Visualise Success
Mentally rehearse your approach to the ball, the contact and the ball going between the posts. You will see players doing this in different ways. Some players glance to and from the target 4 or 5 times before they take the first step whereas others just take one look at both. Either way, control your breathing, slowing it down with long deep breathes until you are calm and settled then begin the approach.
5. Approach The Ball
The aim of the run up is to keep the feet, knees, chest and head positioned evenly on the approach so that all momentum can build into the ball. Approach the ball with the required number of steps and place the non kicking foot half a hips width next to the ball and pointing to the target staying nice and tall with the head over the mid line of the ball.
The planted leg should be slightly bent at the knee providing a slight cushion affect and aid balance for the hard flexed kicking leg that is going to come through after straight and hard.
Do make sure though that your very first step towards the ball is always the same. If it differs each time then you are going to struggle for consistency in your outcome. Consider taking a short slow first step that is always the same rather than an excited first stride which could vary in distance each time.
6. Strike The Ball
The shoulders should be in line pointing towards the target at the point of contact with the head down and the arm nearest to the goal posts outstretched and along the same line as both of the shoulders which will allow the kicking hip to extend better building up the power for the kick.
The kicking foot makes contact with the ball at the top of the instep and swings directly through the ball and importantly the hip needs to thrust through as well. This will add a great deal more power than just the swinging leg alone.
7. Follow Through
The swing of the foot should go straight through the strike zone and continue high into the air in the forward direction of the target. The head should remain down, or at least it should remain over your toes as you hop through.
8. Hop Step
The momentum of the run up should take you up onto the toes of your non kicking foot and create a short hop towards the target. Limit the rotation of the shoulder and the hips in order to send the ball straight down the channel towards the target.
9. Move On
No matter whether your kick has sailed between the uprights or missed completely you need to forget about it and focus on the next job in hand. You must not let one, or a couple of bad kicks affect your confidence and the way you play the next part of the game. The very best players can do this. they can miss kicks and not let it bother them, or the rest of their game.
Pro tip: Pick out a point in the stands or background to aim for rather than aiming for the posts in general. This gives you a specific target to aim for and prevents you from focusing on how narrow the angle is or isn’t. Treat every kick the same from a kick in front of the posts 50 points up to a kick on the touchline to win the game. If you do this then mentally it takes the pressure off of you as you are simply following the same routing that you always do.
Lastly, consider using the same type of kicking tee all the time for every type of kick. In this way, you can get really familiar with where you need to hit the ball to catch the sweet spot and the different angles you need to use to get different results.
“We want to kick with our body, not just our leg.”
George Ford – England Fly Half
The type of boot you where in rugby is also important for kickers so you may want to checkout my guide to the difference between rugby and football boots here.
How To Spiral Kick
The spiral kick is the longest kick in rugby capable of gaining significant amounts of territory for a team. It is also the most difficult to execute and has therefore gone out of fashion over the last decade or so in favour of the end over end drop punt. Here’s how to spiral kick the rugby ball:
Hold the ball pointing at a 30 degree angle with your left hand on top and right hand underneath. Kick straight through the ball contacting around the laces on your boot. Keep the chin over the toes and follow through with your boot high into the air in the direction of the target in front of you.
There’s some great pointers in the video below from Peter Breen who is attack coach for the Australian women’s team, the Wallaroos – his videos are excellent!
Here’s my explanation of how to spiral kick a rugby ball below:
BEFORE:
Head and shoulders should remain as still as possible throughout. The ball should be held with, for a right footed kicker, the right hand underneath the ball and the left hand on top of the ball with the ball pointing forwards but at a 30 degree angle across the body. The nose of ball should also be pointing slightly downwards to compensate for the upwards thrust it will gain from the swinging boot. Furthermore, stand tall as you enter the kick and keep your chin over your toes to maximise the power you can get into the kick.
Players normally take two steps, before dropping the ball onto the laces of your boot as the boot swings forwards and upwards.
DURING:
Whilst maintaining balance on the non-kicking foot, swing the kicking leg and boot straight through the ball with the leg straight at the point of contact and the ankle joint extended. Drop the ball as late as possible onto the foot so the distance it is in freefall is kept to a minimum. This makes it easier to hit the ball with the part of the boot intended and prevents the wind from moving the ball as it drops. The right hand will stay on the ball slightly longer as the ball will be moved over to be in line with the kicking leg just before the boot swing and the left hand will go outwards for balance.
The ball should hit the boot on the laces of a traditional boot whilst the left hand may move out to the side to maintain balance. Don’t lean back during the kick as this will lead to an embarrassing slice of the ball, a feeling I know all too well.
Also, avoid the temptation to kick across the ball in an attempt to deliberately put a spiral on the ball, the ball spirals as a result of the position it hits the foot and not due to the boot being deliberately dragged across the ball. If you do drag your foot across the ball you can get a good spiral but the ball will have less power and it will only swerve in the air one way, drawing from right to left which just makes it harder to judge where the ball will land or cross the touch line.
Instead, what you’re aiming for is a kick that swings two ways, firstly from right to left and then back from left to right. When you nail a kick like this you get much more distance and accuracy. Just remember this can only happen if you kick straight through the ball and not across it!
AFTER:
Keep the head down and follow through with the kicking boot in the direction of the target. After this, you may wish to drop back into a full back role in case the opposition gather your kick and kick it back, or, you may chase your own kick to put pressure on the receiver.
Pro tip: You may consider just leaving the boot up if you are expecting special attention from the opposition backrow. Running into a studded upturned boot early in the game can make them think twice for future kicks. Johnathan Davies of Wales let me in on this tip in his autobiography.
Some class operators worth looking for on YouTube for spiral kicks are: Joel Stransky (South Africa fly half and world cup winner in 1995), Andre Joubert (left footed South African full back from the 90s), Ronan O’ Gara (Ireland’s legendary fly half of the 2000s), and right now Scotland’s Stuart Hogg.
You might also want to read about why there is so much kicking in rugby here in my detailed guide to just that question.
How To Drop Kick
A good drop kicker is needed for restarts where the kick needs to go as high as possible to allow chasing players to compete for the ball. Also, the drop kick is often used in tight games where an extra 3 point may make all the difference, e.g. England’s world cup win in 2003. Here’s how to drop kick:
Hold the ball vertically in two hands with arms outstretched out pointing towards the ground a few yards ahead of you. Step forward with the non kicking foot, drop the ball on its end and hit the ball almost immediately after it touches the floor. Contact is generally made on the laces of the boot near the lower end of the ball.
Lets’ break that down further:
BEFORE:
Hold the ball in two hands with fingers spread around the ball. The ball should be vertical with hands in the top third of the ball which provides much more stability for the upcoming drop. The right hand can be somewhat behind the ball rather than at the side if that makes it more comfortable, this will also help maneuver the ball over to the right side of the body more easily for the actual strike.
You need to keep in contact with the ball for as long as possible before you drop it, therefore reducing the distance it is dropping uncontrolled to the ground. Take a step forward with the non kicking foot keeping the head and shoulders still. Some people like to position the seam so it points towards the posts/target but this is not always possible in open play.
The chest should be positioned at a 45 degree angle towards the target for a longer kick and a 30 degree angle for an orthodox restart, but experiment for yourself to see what works best for you. The idea is that the wider angle provides more power and the narrower angle provides more control. For a longer kick also focus on keeping the leading shoulder down to ensure momentum travels forwards and not upwards.
It’s really important to have momentum going into the kick. If you ‘sit back’ at any point in the kick, the head will come up and the ball will likely go wide of the target. However, if you move positively forward into the contact space and into the meter or so after the contact point you will avoid this issue and your accuracy will be much greater.
For restarts, check the ground is firm enough to give a nice even bounce by dropping and regathering the ball a few times. A wet patch of ground will kill the height on a restart kick.
DURING:
Drop the ball on its end, and for a long drop out, or a shot at goal, hit the ball almost immediately after it touches the floor. For a restart kick, where you need height, allow the ball to bounce a fraction longer so you can get under the ball more and get more upwards leverage on the ball. Always try to get a square drop of the rugby ball though otherwise it can cause a ‘wonky’ bounce and a poor contact. Contact is generally made on the laces of the boot and a straight leg is required to give the control and power.
Keep the foot strong and hard, i.e. not wobbly and weak. You can do this by emphasizing the point of your toes as you kick. This provides a much more ridged platform for contact with the ball and therefore gives you much more control and means you can repeat the same kick again much more easily.
AFTER:
The foot and leg should follow through straight towards the target and the head should remain down during the follow through as well. Body weight should shift towards the target maintaining the chest on approach, i.e. don’t fall away to either side. For longer drop kicks you should follow through and your momentum should mean you step forward after the kick, however, for restarts you are more stationery and you may find yourself stepping back after the kick.
Pro tip: Positioning is all important for any drop kicks at goal. You need to stand deeper in the pocket and you may even call out some of your forwards to ‘linger’ in the defensive line in front you to slow down opponents trying to charge down the kick.
As I am now drop goal merchant myself, I derived some of the tips from the video below, made by the drop goal legend that is Jonny Wilkinson, enjoy…
I put Jonny’s video in because he is a legend but actually this bloke who is coach of he Australian women’s team produced a great video about drop kicks here which some of the above tips come from also.
How To Drop Punt
A punt is an end over end kick from the hand usually attempting to gain territory as far down the field as possible. It is considered to be more accurate than the spiral and easier to execute. Here’s how to do it:
Hold the ball vertically upright, or with a slight forwards tilt . Kick straight through the ball contacting around the laces on your boot with the sweet spot a couple of inches below the very bottom of the ball. Keep the head down and follow through with your boot high into the air in the direction of the target in front of you.
Let’s flesh that out a bit more:
BEFORE:
Head and shoulders should remain as still as possible throughout. The ball should be held with one hand either side of the ball in the top third of the ball. You may wish to tilt it slightly forward but that is down to your personal preference and what works for you.
Drop the ball from as close a distance to your boot as possible. This makes it easier to hit the ball with the part of the boot intended and prevents the wind from moving the ball as it drops.
DURING:
Whilst maintaining balance on the non-kicking foot the ball should be moved out to the kicking side of the body and at this point the hand on the opposite side of the kicking foot will come off the ball and swing out sideways to aid balance. The hand remaining on the ball will drop the ball from as short a distance as possible on to the laces of the boot which will swing directly through the ball making contact when the leg is straight. Don’t lean back during the kick as this will lead to an embarrassing slice of the ball, a feeling I know all too well 🙁
AFTER:
Keep the chin over the toes of the non kicking foot as you follow through with the kicking boot in the direction of the target. After this, you may wish to drop back into a full back role in case the opposition gather your kick and kick it back, or, you may chase your own kick to put pressure on the receiver.
Pro tip: You may consider just leaving the boot up if you are expecting special attention from the opposition backrow. Running into a studded upturned boot early in the game can make them think twice for future kicks. Johnathan Davies of Wales let me in on this tip in his autobiography.
If you are new to rugby and wanting to know how to improve your game fast then check out my article: 11 Tips To Improve Your Game Fast, here.
How To Grubber Kick
A useful kick to use in wet weather when the ball is difficult to gather off the floor, or to turn defenders when they are using a rush/blitz defensive system. Also, an excellent option for a short cross kick as an attacking option. Here’s how to do it:
Hold the ball with the right hand underneath the ball and the left hand on top of the ball and the ball pointing straight. Kick the ball with a slightly bent leg and use a short stabbing action to hit the ball into the ground a few meters in front of you.
Lets’ put the meat on the bones of that description:
BEFORE:
Head and shoulders should remain as still as possible throughout. The ball should be held with, for a right footed kicker, the right hand underneath the ball and the left hand on top of the ball with the ball pointing straight rather than at an angle as for the punt. I suggest a 45 degree forward tilt to the ball for a grubber giving you a clear target to to hit, i.e. the top point of the ball which you are wanting to nudge end over end.
DURING:
Whilst maintaining balance on the non-kicking foot swing the kicking leg and with a slightly bent leg and a foot that is extended stab the ball into the ground with a short stabbing action. The nose of the kicker should also be over the contact spot of the ball ensuring the downwards trajectory. The foot also needs to be hard and locked in an extended position even though there is a slight knee bend.
AFTER:
There is no need to follow through a great deal with this kick, in fact, the stabbing motion won’t allow a great deal of follow through but you should chase through on this type of kick hard with the expectancy that the ball will bobble around and be difficult to gather, giving you time to add more pressure to the defender.
Pro tip: You may also execute this with the side of your foot, some players prefer this as they can make contact in a softer way and control the ball better.
BTW, if you are enjoying this guide to kicking then you might also enjoy our detailed guide on How To Actually Pass A Rugby Ball, here.
How To Kick An ‘Up and Under’ (Garry Owen)
A great way to test out the opposition fullbacks’ nerves and handling skills in the opening minutes of a match or to make use of particularly wet and windy conditions which may cause problems for catchers. Here’s how to do it”
Hold the ball in an upright position with hands either side and shoulders angled slightly away from the opposition. Kick straight through the end of the ball making contact on the laces of the boot with the leg straight at the point of contact. Follow through with the kicking boot high into the air in the direction of the target.
BEFORE:
Head and shoulders should remain as still as possible throughout. The ball should be held in an upright position with hands either side. Shoulders may be angled slightly away from the opposition back row/defenders in order to offer some protection to the ball leaving the foot.
DURING:
Whilst maintaining balance on the non-kicking foot swing the kicking leg and boot straight through the ball with the leg straight at the point of contact. The ball should hit the boot on the laces of a traditional boot on the point under the ball but slightly to the side of the ball facing the kicker. You are trying to place a degree of back spin on the ball to help it travel through the air and maximize hang time. On contact with the ball the toes should be raised to provide the upward direction and thrust required.
AFTER:
Keep the head down and follow through with the kicking boot high into the air with a straight leg and toes pointing upwards. You may also raise onto the toes of the non kicking foot, or even leave the floor slightly if you have created enough momentum to do so.
Pro tip: The spiral bomb is also an option but is much harder to execute. Essentially, you merge the up and under with the spiral punt described earlier. This should mean that as the balls returns to earth spiraling it will swerve around making it particularly difficult to catch. Generally speaking though, it is not for mere mortals like myself!
How To Chip Kick
This is a great kicking option to keep defences guessing and prevent them from using the blitz defensive method the entire time. A chip kick can be used anytime the fly-half feels there is space in behind the defensive line. here’s how to do it:
Hold the ball in an upright position with hands either side then swing the kicking leg and boot straight through the bottom point of the ball making sure the leg is straight at the point of contact. The ball should hit the boot on the laces under the ball with the aim of imparting backspin and there should be minimal follow through.
BEFORE:
Head and shoulders should remain as still as possible throughout. The ball should be held in an upright position with hands either side. Shoulders may be angled slightly away from the opposition back row/defenders in order to offer some protection to the ball leaving the foot.
DURING:
Whilst maintaining balance on the non-kicking foot swing the kicking leg and boot straight through the ball with the leg straight at the point of contact. The ball should hit the boot on the laces of a traditional boot on the point under the ball but slightly to the side of the ball facing the kicker.
On contact with the ball the toes should be raised to provide some back spin to the ball. The point of this is to make the ball pop up after it bounces and easier to regather for chasers
AFTER:
There should be no full follow through with this kick, in fact, it is a stabbing motion with the boot which will only allow for a minimal follow through.
Pro tip: Communicating to your outside backs of your intentions is crucial in order to allow them to run onto the ball effectively. Finn Russel is one of the current masters at mixing his kicks up to keep the defense guessing and therefore give his outside backs more time when he does pass to them.
So, that is how to kick a rugby ball, now why not take a look at the 11 different types of kicks in rugby you can now do using those techniques in my detailed guide here.
Photo Credits:
Featured image – Jonny Wilkinson US Oyonnax – Rugby club toulonnais, 28th September 2013 Fanny Schertzer, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Photo 2 – Rugby union french championship of U21, Stade toulousain vs Lyon OU Caroline Léna Becker, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Photo 3 – Free kick after a mark. Hugh Pyle, Vincent Malet, Davit Kubriashvili Clément Bucco-Lechat, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Photo 4 -Ross Chisholm with the grubber kick. Charlie from UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Photo 5 – Wests Tigers playmaker Benji Marshall paddynapper, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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