For a game famous for players catching the ball and running, there is quite a variety of different types of kick that go on these days both from hand and from off the floor. For a beginner, kicking in rugby can be a little confusing, so let’s go through some of the basics.
What is it called when you kick a ball in rugby union?
In rugby union kicks off the floor are called: place kicks, goal kicks, penalty kicks, or conversions. Kicks from hand are called: cross kicks, touch kicks, grubber kicks, chip kicks, box kicks, up and unders, fly-hacks, spiral kicks, torpedo kicks, bombs, or drop kicks depending on their purpose.
Some types of kick have more than one name and also different types of kicks go in and out of fashion. Now, I’m going to break these different types of kicks first into two sections: Kicks from hand, and kicks off the floor. Let’s start with kicks off the floor:
9 Types Of Kicks From Hand
Touch Kicks
A touch kick in rugby is any type of kick where the player is trying to kick the ball off the pitch. This is because when the ball goes out of play it is known as being ‘in touch’. This expression comes from the fact that if the ball, or a player’s foot touches the line it is ruled as being out of play. The best touch kicks gain the most territory and are often spiral/torpedo kicks.
Spiral/Torpedo Kicks
A spiral, or torpedo kick is when a player drops the ball lengthways onto the laces of the boot of the kicking foot. The boot travels directly through the middle and very slightly across it which causes the spiral motion. It is one of the hardest kicks in rugby as the kickers timing and technique has to be spot on.
The spiral seemingly helps the ball travel further through the air than any other type of kick and the spiraling ball causes the ball to move around, and curve through the air. This makes it hard for a defending player to judge where they should stand to catch the ball.
This type of kick is going out of fashion though, as it is harder to execute, and since the ‘end over end’ kick type came to prominence in the late 1990s it has started to disappear from the game.
The danger with the spiral kick is that if the ball is not dropped onto the boot at precisely the right angle, or if the player’s head comes up a fraction then the player will slice the ball and it can shoot off wildly to the side, normally to be greeted by jeers from the crowd. The end over end kick has therefore has taken over in terms of popularity as it is a much less risky kick.
The top performers of the spiral/torpedo kick these days is probably Stuart Hogg but as well as him in recent years you can ‘youtube’ any of these guys to see what spiral kicks should look like: Ronan O’Gara, Gavin Henson, Joel Stransky, Dan Carter.
End Over End Kicks
The ‘end over end’ is when you drop the ball vertically onto the swinging kicking foot which should aim to contact the ball right on the bottom end of the ball. The ball then falls back on itself as it travels through the air causing it to travel in a straight line through the air.
This type of kick is easier to aim for touch than a spiral kick as with a spiral you have to judge how far the ball will drift in the air, and of course the risk of a ‘slice’ is minimal with the end over end kick.
This end over end kick requires much less practice to become proficient at and is far less likely to go wrong. On the other hand, I’d say that a good spiral kick will get you up to 20% more distance, which over the course of a game or season could be quite a telling statistic.
Finally, the end over end kick is probably the most common form of kick these days and is mastered especially well by players such as: Owen Farrell, Johnny Sexton and Richie Mo’unga.
Crosskicks
Cross kicks are end over end kicks where the kicker, usually the fly-half, has noticed that his open side winger has no defenders in front of him, or at least there are defenders that they feel their winger can beat in the air. They then kick the ball across the pitch, and land it 10 or 20 meters in front of the attacking winger who attempts to catch the ball and score a try.
It is a great weapon for a team to have as it should keep the opposition defensive line stretched across the pitch to cover the kick, which in turn, may create gaps in the midfield area for runners.
In recent years, Jonny Wilkinson was a master of this kick, but Owen Farrell, Beauden Barret and many other fly-halves have become particularly proficient at this skill. Incidentally, you may also be interested in reading about the rules for rugby boots here.
Grubber Kicks
Grubber kicks are when the kicker deliberately kicks the ball along the floor. The reason for doing this is because the ball will bounce unpredictably along the ground, bobbling around disconcertingly and therefore making it hard for a defender to gather.
This kick is particularly popular in bad weather when a slippy ball and the awkward bounce may well cause a knock on and a put in to the team kicking the ball.
The grubber is executed through a combination of making contact with the ball at a low point of trajectory and from the angle of the foot facing horizontally or downwards. The contact point on the ball is often three quarters of the way up the ball and in the end over end style. The side of the boot can also be used to provide a softer contact for shorter kicks.
The grubber kick is normally used over shorter distances to turn defenses and for wingers to run on to and try and regather, but it can be used effectively over longer distances too. Once more Jonny Wilkinson was particularly good at this skill.
Up and Unders / A Bomb / A ‘Garry Owen’
Up and unders, also known as ‘bombs’ or ‘Garry Owen’s’ are when a player kicks the ball up as high into the air as possible and then rushes underneath it to try and regather it further up the pitch. It is sometimes called a Garry Owen after the club of the same name used this style of kick with great success in the 1920s and the name has stuck ever since.
This kick is often used to test out the opposition full back early on in a game and if he is not competent at dealing with the first couple of kicks then you know it is a useful tactic to pursue throughout the game.
Furthermore, Garry Owens used extensively in wet conditions and also in high pressure games where a team wants to avoid making mistakes and put pressure on the opposition.
The kick can be kicked on either end of the ball or in the middle of the ball. The best players can perform this with a spiral kick and the advantage of a spiral bomb is that on the way back down the ball will serve around deceptively.
George Ford is the current expert at this skill, however, Dan Biggar the Welsh fly-half is legendary at being able to launch an up an ‘up and under’, chase and regather the ball thirty meters down field.
The Box Kick
A box kick is a kick which is performed from the base of a scrum, ruck, or maul, usually by the scrum half who is aiming to kick the ball about 30 meters down the field in a high looping fashion in order to give chasers the chance to put pressure on the opposition and compete for the ball.
It is called a ‘box kick’ because on a rugby pitch there is a line 5 meters in from touch called the ‘5 meter line’ and another line on the 15 meter line. In conjunction with the various horizontal lines across the pitch, (22 metre lines, halfway, try lines) boxes are formed. It is within these boxes that the scrum-half is aiming to land the ball hence the name, the box kick.
Box kicking is a very popular tactic for gaining territory and attempting to regain possession at the same time. It puts all the pressure on the defending team and is a great tactic on windy days, or if you can isolate a smaller winger or a winger who is not so good at fielding high balls.
The Fly-hack
When a ball goes loose on the floor perhaps from a player dropping the ball, rather than try and pick the ball up or drop on it to secure possession for your team, a player will instead kick the ball along the floor in the direction they are attacking.
Whilst this takes very little skill and is not normally the preferred option of coaches who normally want you to drop on the ball and secure it for your team first, it can be very effective in gaining territory and causing havoc in the defending teams defense.
Any player can do this and there is no particular skill involved, however, it may be a more sensible option in muddy weather when you might risk knocking the ball on if you tried to pick the ball up, or if you feel another player is beating you to the ball you may just stick a boot out to try and stop them from dropping on it first.
Drop-kicks
Loved and loathed in equal measure these types of kick are difficult to execute with consistent accuracy and are used to restart the game following tries, and when a 22 drop out is needed. They can also be performed during open play to score 3 points.
Essentially, any player, but normally a back and often the fly-half after receiving the ball can try to drop-kick the ball through the posts and over the crossbar. Some people see this as a negative tactic as it is like saying ‘we can’t score tries against you, so we are just going to kick drop-goals instead’. But, who cares if it helps your team win?
In 1999 Jannie De Beer kicked an incredible 5 drop goals against England in the quarter finals of the world cup knocking them out even though they scored the same number of tries.
Probably the most famous drop goal of them all was Jonny Wilkinson’s world cup final winning drop goal in 2003. Kicking off his wrong foot he slotted the ball between the posts with time nearly up on the clock – a pressure drop goal that has gone down in history as one of the most dramatic moments in sport.
Jonny Wilkinson is the leading points scorer in test match rugby with drop goals having scored 36 international drop goals, 6 more than Huga Porta in second place.
You might also want to read Why do they kick so much in rugby?, here.
Kicks off the floor
Place kicks
Any team that wants to be successful needs to have a very good place kicker, normally the number 10, or full-back. Players dedicate hours a day perfecting their place kicking technique so that they can kick the ball over the cross bar of the rugby posts to score: penalty goals, worth 3 points, or conversion kicks, worth 2 points, from anywhere inside the opponents half of the pitch.
There are two main styles of place kicks: the head on kicker (toe poker) which was most popular pre 1970s and the more modern and usual form of goal kicker, the round the corner style. Typically, the round the corner kicker will place the ball upright vertically on a kicking tee, line the seam up so that it is pointing between the posts, take 3 or 4 steps backwards and then 3 or 4 steps to the side.
They tend to pause for 20-30 seconds, mentally rehearsing how they are going to kick the ball and visualising the ball going between the posts before they execute the skill. It is normal in rugby for crowds to become quiet during these moments to allow the kicker the fullest opportunity to concentrate.
For penalty kicks, that are awarded after the opposition have done something wrong, opponents cannot charge down the kick, however, for conversions opponents can line -up behind their own try line and as soon as they spot the kicker moving toward the ball they are allowed to run as fast as they can and try and ‘charge down/block’ the kicker.
The kicker has one minute to execute to kick or the referee will cancel the attempt. If the ball topples over in the wind as the player is running up then the kicker’s only option is to pick the ball up and try to drop-kick the ball between the posts. Indeed in rugby 7s and in mini-rugby, drop kicks only are used for conversions in order to save time and quicken the game up.
Goal kicking is a unique skill and requires players to switch from a fast flowing, aggressive game with lots of variables to a closed skill where it is just them, the ball and the posts. It requires utmost calm and concentration and places huge mental demands on players.
It is such a crucial skill that top teams have specific kicking coaches to help players with technique and mindset: Dave Aldred and Neil Jenkins, reportedly being amongst the best in the business.
The greatest goal kickers of all time and their test match points tally are: Dan Carter – 1598 points, Jonny Wilkinson – 1246 points, Neil Jenkins – 1090 points, Ronan O’Gara 1083 points and Owen Farrell – 1050 points.
What positions kick in rugby?
Any position can kick in rugby, however, usually it is the fly-half, scrum-half and full back who do most of the kicking. These players are in the positions where kicking is most likely to be needed and are usually the most talented and practised kickers in a team.
After those positions the centres can often be used as an extra clearing kicker. If a team does not always rely on the same kickers to clear the ball into touch then there will be less focus on just one player and it should therefore mean there is slightly more time and space for them to get a good clearance kick in.
You might also want to read about the difference between football and rugby boots here.
Photo Credits:
Featured image: Jonny Wilkinson place kicking Léna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo 2: Ross Chisholm with the grubber kick. Charlie from UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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