To Forget Marseilles: The Critical Importance of Kicking

[dobduff11]

The good thing about JOC (James O'Connor)'s kicking technique is that he kicks straight through the ball and doesn't rely on a curve to guide it towards the posts.

Once they are hit they go straight and if he works with Daryl in the off-season a bit I reckon he could be up to Morne's globally superior standards in the next couple of years.

As we have seen previously Gits' kicking goes to shit when he is under pressure, Austin's/Gagger's vids highlighted that.

Quade is a bit dodgy although could take the reins and Gits is unlikely to start in my books but could kick if its necessary. Oh yeah and Kurtley for the longens

 

[ACT Crusader]

Rabbit and Beale to share the duties if required. Beale has the long range, although not many 50m or thereabouts are taken/attempted in NZ

 

[tranquility]

Just as important; tactical kicking.

Gerard should be on the bench for all important Wallabies fixtures this season.

That is all.

 

[DPK]

One thing I've noticed is the tees used by kickers. Morne Steyn and Dan Carter are regarded as the top kickers, at least in the SH. Both of them use a very low cut tee and place the ball upright, only leaning slightly towards the goal.

All of the Aussie kickers have a much lower angle towards the goalposts and use higher tees.

...yeah. Not sure if it means anything, just thought I'd point that out

 

[dobduff11]

The higher tees are favoured by many league kickers as well. From my experience the high tees always get the ball roughly in the right direction with a decent connection. Also easier to curve if thats your thing.

The low tees are more difficult to get right every time, although if you get good enough they allow for a more precise kick.

I used to use the dan carter tee but two kicks out of ten in practice would be complete fuck ups. I now use the tee Gits, JOC (James O'Connor) and Quade use. Can get a great strike on the ball and my general accuracy has improved a lot. More difficult to kick from 45+ though, for me anyway.

 

[DPK]

Yeah dobby, I use the league tees too. I'm interested in the low tees, though, I'd like to try one out. I have a theory that kicking the point of the ball is easier to fuck up and miss-kick, and maybe hitting the wide side of the ball will be more like kicking a soccer ball.

 

[RedsHappy]

The good thing about JOC (James O'Connor)'s kicking technique is that he kicks straight through the ball and doesn't rely on a curve to guide it towards the posts....

RH: You are so right re that straight line technique of JO'C's, to a non-kicking innocent it looks very much more solid and reliable. Typically, Quade's misses come from hooks as the curve he effects over curves, or the immediate alignment just after the kick goes off.

 

[dobduff11]

Go for it konze, although I really dislike them.

As for the tactical kicking, nearly all of playmakers/kickers are 45-50 metre punt kickers. I know kurtley can belt it but Quade, JOC (James O'Connor) and Gits are all of similar punting lengths.

Gerrard can launch it and that may be handy in wet conditions but is the rest of his game good enough to make the wallabies especially ahead of some promising speedsters.

Does anyone have any advice on how to punt longer, I'm stuck at around 42/43 metres and Its frustrating me that I can't launch it as far as a friend of mine that doesn't even play rugby. He is one of those kids that kick and throw really far naturally, not even decent technique.

 

[Victorian Reds Fan]

Just as important; tactical kicking.

Gerard should be on the bench for all important Wallabies fixtures this season.

That is all.

Great technique and a monster boot. Has been arguably the best Rebels player this year (Phipps has not been as good as some suggest).

 

[Victorian Reds Fan]

Go for it konze, although I really dislike them.

As for the tactical kicking, nearly all of playmakers/kickers are 45-50 metre punt kickers. I know kurtley can belt it but Quade, JOC (James O'Connor) and Gits are all of similar punting lengths.

Gerrard can launch it and that may be handy in wet conditions but is the rest of his game good enough to make the wallabies especially ahead of some promising speedsters.

Does anyone have any advice on how to punt longer, I'm stuck at around 42/43 metres and Its frustrating me that I can't launch it as far as a friend of mine that doesn't even play rugby. He is one of those kids that kick and throw really far naturally, not even decent technique.

Maybe check out some of the better kickers in footy (afl). Possibly Fletcher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7dyB4jD18k

 

[Jnor]

Go for it konze, although I really dislike them.

As for the tactical kicking, nearly all of playmakers/kickers are 45-50 metre punt kickers. I know kurtley can belt it but Quade, JOC (James O'Connor) and Gits are all of similar punting lengths.

Gerrard can launch it and that may be handy in wet conditions but is the rest of his game good enough to make the wallabies especially ahead of some promising speedsters.

Does anyone have any advice on how to punt longer, I'm stuck at around 42/43 metres and Its frustrating me that I can't launch it as far as a friend of mine that doesn't even play rugby. He is one of those kids that kick and throw really far naturally, not even decent technique.

Become a forward so you don't have do silly things like kick. seriously I doubt I could get 40 and as I don't know what it would be like to kick 43 metres I say in the most humble way possible I don't think I could offer you any advice

 

[dobduff11]

Fair enough Jnor, I dont think i would be much use in a scrum or lineout.

I have done plenty of research on this and the only thing I have found that is regularly mentioned is timing.

Thanks for that VRF had a look at a lot of the afl kickers and have tried to adopt their style although its very different to how we are taught in england.

 

[Rebel rouser]

Watch the reel of Carter taking his last kick at penalty in the Crusaders v Reds last week - the kick that temporarily put them in front. He puts the ball in position, steps back and *smiles to himself*. Clearly, it is an absolute certainty in his mind that the ball is going straight through the sticks.

Admittedly, it was an easy kick, but just compare his mind set to Gits v Scotland in 2010 and even Quade's kick that won the game last weekend. Carter's complete self-belief in his ability is what we are lacking in an Aussie goal kicker at the moment and the lack of it may well be the crucial difference in a world cup campaign.

 

[RedsHappy]

Watch the reel of Carter taking his last kick at penalty in the Crusaders v Reds last week - the kick that temporarily put them in front. He puts the ball in position, steps back and *smiles to himself*. Clearly, it is an absolute certainty in his mind that the ball is going straight through the sticks.

Admittedly, it was an easy kick, but just compare his mind set to Gits v Scotland in 2010 and even Quade's kick that won the game last weekend. Carter's complete self-belief in his ability is what we are lacking in an Aussie goal kicker at the moment and the lack of it may well be the crucial difference in a world cup campaign.

Rr, I think there's much in what you say. For me, in general, there is something 'not built like a rock' in the modality of most top Aus kickers. Crucial kicks are sometimes nailed, sometimes not. It's as though true technical self-confidence - 'I simply know I have the consistent and correct technique to to make this kick, and the next one...' - never seems there in the way you feel the vibe at the tee from a Carter, or Steyn, or, too, a Grant. It may well be that the calibre of kicking coaching and requisite technical advice is simply not taken seriously enough in Aus rugby, and we rely on an implicit view that 'natural, self-taught kickers will take care of themselves and do the job'. And I absolutely agree with you - consistently high kicking success %s could separate the final WC teams and be decisive factor skill-wise in NZ. We ignore, or under train or under coach for, the criticality of this skill at our peril.

The related issue is of course that of the optimal mental calm and clarity of focus at the tee. Top golfers at their tees (some analogies with rugby place kicking) employ elite sports psychologists to help them with achieving an inner mental state that is uncluttered, calm, 'solely in the now' and totally focussed on precise technical execution of the swing. It's so easy to see IMO that Gits and Cooper can both go errant in their kicks through game pressure that they cannot relieve adequately at the tee, and so remarkably kicks an U14 player would make right in front are missed, with potentially horrendous consequences.

 

[DPK]

Does anyone have any advice on how to punt longer, I'm stuck at around 42/43 metres and Its frustrating me that I can't launch it as far as a friend of mine that doesn't even play rugby. He is one of those kids that kick and throw really far naturally, not even decent technique.

Torpedo kicks are better. But one little piece of advice is to focus on the contact between your foot and the ball. It sounds stupid, but focus on kicking the ball; don't focus on your legs arc or look up, keep eye contact with the ball and focus on your contact.

 

[Victorian Reds Fan]

Torpedo kicks are better. But one little piece of advice is to focus on the contact between your foot and the ball. It sounds stupid, but focus on kicking the ball; don't focus on your legs arc or look up, keep eye contact with the ball and focus on your contact.

Disagree with torpedo kicks being better. They go further, but are harder to execute under pressure due to the difficulty of dropping the ball correctly. Agree that it is the way you drop the ball onto the foot that is key. A well executed drop punt can easily go 50 metres.

 

[DPK]

With enough practice, they become second nature to kick. From my experience it's only as hard to kick a torpedo under pressure as a punt.

Good video on how to torpedo kick properly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PazJjTLF0a4

 

[RedsHappy]

With enough practice, they become second nature to kick. From my experience it's only as hard to kick a torpedo under pressure as a punt.....Good video on how to torpedo kick properly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PazJjTLF0a4

Wasn't the Mick Byrne there the ABs' specialist kicking coach for many years, and a tall ex-AFL playing Aussie? (Interesting of course that the ABs have regularly employed full-time specialist kicking and mental skills coaches, we have typically retained neither at a national level.)

See:http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/2334441/All-Blacks-lose-Mick-the-Kick and this from it:

He (Byrne) was the Wallabies' kicking and catching coach when they won the World Cup in 1999 and held the same role with the ACT Brumbies from 1998-2001.

 

[DPK]

Yep, he was RH. An AFL coach would be pretty good to have in the Wallaby camp, as long as all they teach is kicking, maybe catching the high ball.

I saw a tackle in AFL once; the crowd booed and the refs gave a penalty.

 

[Victorian Reds Fan]

Yep, he was RH. An AFL coach would be pretty good to have in the Wallaby camp, as long as all they teach is kicking, maybe catching the high ball.

I saw a tackle in AFL once; the crowd booed and the refs gave a penalty.

They have no idea how to tackle. It infuriates me. The worst part about afl is that they have no idea how to correctly implement the advantage rule.