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Good,
accurate kicking wins matches, and poor, aimless
kicking loses games. If you coach your players
to kick the ball accurately and with precision,
you will make an important contribution to your
team and your players' development. Usually,
the scrum
half, fly
half and full
back are the players who do the most kicking.
However, every player in your squad should be
able to kick with some degree of accuracy and
skill and not be afraid to do so in the correct
situations.
As
well as being able to kick you need to coach
your players to catch the ball safely and under
control to regain and maintain possession of
the ball. If your opponents are accurate kickers,
your team will be under extreme pressure when
trying to catch the ball. Teammates greatly
respect - and spectators greatly admire - players
who can keep their concentration and secure
the ball for their team with a safe catch when
there is chaos all around and they are under
great pressure. If your players are unable to
catch the ball confidently and knock the ball
forward, they will give away a scrum to the
opposition and lose possession of the ball for
your team. Once the opposition feel this to
be a weakness it is a ploy they will continue
to use this tactic.
Whilst
players should be encouraged to run and pass
the ball as much as possible, especially when
young, there may be a crucial moment in the
game when the best option is to kick the ball.
It may also be in your advantage to keep the
ball in play and avoid touch. So you must encourage
the players to make sure they kick intelligently
and not aimlessly kick hard won possession away.
Sometimes if you kick the ball accurately and
keep the ball in the 5m channel area, your opponents
will have a narrow angle to use when they field
the ball, they will have limited options and
usually clear the ball only a short distance
to touch. This will give you the opportunity
to regain possession by having control of the
throw-in at the subsequent lineout. Remember,
your players need to be coached to kick with
a purpose, rather than as a last resort because
they lose patience and cannot think of anything
better to do.
There
are two basic ways of kicking the ball:
from
the hand
from
the ground
Each
type of kick plays a distinct and important
role for the team with possession. They also
need to be practised as individual skills and
players need to be aware of the techniques for
each kick.
Kicks
From the Hands
There
are five types of punts:
A
high up and under "bomb" that allows chasing
players to regain possession behind the defence.
For this punt, the kicker needs to give the
ball enough "hang time" to allow the chasers
to race up the field and catch the ball or put
pressure on the catcher. A long touch kick (kicking
the ball off the field) for gaining field position
or territory. A long, rolling kick near the
touch line t force the opposition to put the
ball into touch, so your team has the throw-in
at the lineout. Though similar to a grubber
kick, this kick is usually much longer.
Kicking
with Mark Tainton
A
chip kick is used to kick just over the top
of an advancing defence, when the kicker sees
space behind the defence. Either the kicker
or the chasing players must attempt to catch
the kick before the ball hits the ground.
A
box kick is often used by a scrum half to kick
from the base of a scrum or a ruck or a maul,
often from the right-hand side of the field
for the right winger to chase and put pressure
on the defence. Again, the kicker needs to concentrate
on "hang time" to buy time for the chasers (A
box kick is similar to a bomb, but the technique
is very different).
A
grubber kick is used to move the ball along
the ground in such a way as to make it difficult
for opponents to control. When a player finds
themselves isolated outside their 22m safety
area, they can use this kick to gain territory
or to force a line-out. If the defence is coming
up quickly, your players need to be coached
to kick an angled grubber kick through a gap
between the opposition players and one that
the supporting players can chase. It is also
a useful restart kick in wet weather and can
lead to the opposition knocking-on.
The
wipers kick is a diagonal kick behind the defence
for your side to chase. A fly half will use
this kick if the defence is coming up fast,
making it difficult for the centres to play,
and there is a space out wide behind the defence.
A wipers kick often makes it difficult for a
defence to turn and get back in time to prevent
your team moving forward.
Why
is Kicking Important?
When
your team kicks the ball, they must know why
they are doing it and what advantage they hope
to achieve over their opponents. The chasers
who are directly involved must know when to
expect the kick and all the team must know where
the ball is expected to land.
During
a game your players are likely to kick the ball
both in attack and defence. The grubber, chip
or high kicks should be used to regain possession
behind the defence, having moved the ball across
the gain line (so that the ball is in front
of all attacking players). Players may also
kick the ball into space in order to gain ground
and take play deep into opposition territory
to expose the opposition's defensive weaknesses
and to ease defensive pressure on your backs.
For
example, a high punt in the air, or bomb, is
a good attacking kick that makes it difficult
for the opposition to control the ball, and
they have to retreat to cover the catcher. If
isolated as the last line of defence deep in
your own territory, players need to be able
to catch, gather the ball on the run or pick
up the ball and clear to touch so that your
team can re-organise the defence.
You
also need to be able to coach your players to
kick with both feet. The simple rule is to kick
with the foot farthest from the opposition.
The kicks need to be placed to force defenders
to use their weakest foot to clear. Attempt
to improve the accuracy, height and distance
of all the kicks. Kicking practice is a good
opportunity for other players to practice receiving
the ball, from the ground or from the air and
also to practise the chase and the organisation
of the chasing players. Except when you are
kicking from deep in your own territory, try
to keep the ball in play put the opposition
under pressure in an attempt to regain possession
You
will have a lot of fun coaching players to kick.
Set them high standards and lots of challenges.
Initially concentrate on perfecting technique,
then accuracy and finally power. Remember good
kicking wins game and poor kicking loses games.
To achieve a successful kicking game players
need to understand the objectives of the kick
and select the correct kick for the correct
situation in a match.
The
types of Kick are:
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