Former All Black Nicky Evans is one of the best kickers in the Aviva Premiership. Last season he kicked the winning conversion to help Harlequins lift the European Challenge Cup Trophy.
The opening round of the Aviva Premiership and the first two rounds of the French Top 14 have demonstrated the necessity to have a reliable kicker. In the Aviva Premiership, the opening games were won by an average of just over 5 points. Goal kicking will be crucial to success as this year’s league looks like it will be more competitive then ever, even without the World Cup stars away at the World Cup.
Welford Road is usually a fortress where many teams struggle to get within touching distance of the Tigers, however, last year’s plucky competitors Exeter showed that anyone can win come match day. Exeter should not be underestimated this year, they have a strong pack and some exciting backs. However, Leicester had the chance to seal their first win of the season with George Ford’s two drop-goal attempts. Unfortunately for them, the both kicks drifted wide of the posts and the victory was handed over to the Chiefs. Admittedly, Leicester Tigers are missing their starting fly-half in Toby Flood, however, in this league drop goals and penalties have to be successful in order to progress in the competition. Ford will learn from the experience and he will become a key member of the Leicester side during the World Cup period. The question is which fly-halves can stand up to the pressure?
It seems Nicky Evans is a player who can cope a the pressurised environment; one only has to look back to the Heineken Cup pool game in December 2008 vs. Stade Français, where Harlequins went through a gruelling 29 phases before Evans slotted the winning drop-goal. This sent Harlequins into the Quarter-Finals, where they went on to lose 5-6 against Leinster in the match that became infamous for the ‘Bloodgate’ scandal. However, Harlequins has recovered admirably from the scandal with a great win in the Amlin Challenge Cup Final last season. They made a solid start this season in the London Double header, with a 29-24 victory over London Irish. Evans contributed an impressive 19 points to the Londoner’s total and showed that he will once again be a real danger in the Premiership. With many clubs missing key experienced players due to International duties, Harlequins will be grateful that Evans is staying in London this season as he can control a game with authority and keeps the scoreboard ticking over.
Another player who kicked well at the weekend was Sam Vesty; the Bath fly-half was in great form with the boot as he kicked 4 penalties and a drop goal to seal a promising away victory over Newcastle at Kingston Park. Bath’s kicking game should only improve with the signing of Stephen Donald; the former All Black will provide more control at fly-half and is an excellent goal kicker himself. Newcastle usually rely on the kicking ability of Jimmy Goppeth, however, he could only add 3 penalties to the Newcastle scoreboard. If Newcastle wishes to stay in the Premiership next season, they will have to improve their attacking play and add variety to their scoring options. Goppeth alone is unlikely to be able to guarantee them Premiership survival.
Nicky Robinson made his first appearance for London Wasps against Saracens at Twickenham in their surprise 20-15 victory over the reigning champions. At Gloucester, Robinson was heavily criticised for his goal kicking and some suggest that is why he was not offered a new contract for the Cherry and Whites. However, he looked composed as he landed two conversions and two penalties to help seal a win for his new side. Robinson will be a key player for Wasps this season as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 9th placed performance last year.
In the possible relegation fight between Worcester and Sale there was an inconsistent kicking performance from Andy Goode for Worcester and Nick MacLeod for Sale. MacLeod kept Sale in the game; however, he could not land a penalty just before heading into the final quarter that would have placed much needed pressure on the Warriors as they went into the final stage of the match. Goode nailed his first conversion from out on the wing, but he missed a penalty to stretch his sides lead, luckily he was given an easy conversion thanks to a monumental effort in the scrum that earned the Warriors a penalty try. Goode will be able to improve his kicking game throughout the season, but more importantly MacLeod will have to seriously improve as Sale has lost Charlie Hodgson to Saracens. Hodgson was a vital member of Sale’s squad when they won the Premiership in the 2005/6 season. And last year he kept them in the top flight competition with some excellent performances with the boot and in open play. Sale’s goal kicking options will be bolstered by the arrival of Tasesa Lavea when he returns from the World Cup in New Zealand. Lavea will bring much needed experience to the Sale side following stints with the Blues and the Chiefs in the Super 14 and also time with Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14 in France. The Sharks will be hoping that Lavea’s kicking game will be able to replace the gap left by Charlie Hodgson.
The match at Franklins Gardens between Northampton and Gloucester was an exciting game, where both teams looked to run the ball and play some expansive rugby. Phil Dowson had a terrific game in the loose and Stephen Myler kept Northampton in the lead with the boot. In the second-half, Gloucester looked to have made an excellent comeback after Charlie Sharples dived over for their second try, however, the young Freddie Burns missed the conversion and looked like he was more likely to hit the corner flag then place the ball through the posts. Burns then looked to have redeemed himself with a confident drop-goal attempt that he struck beautifully; this gave Gloucester a lead with five minutes to go. However, Will James had a moment of madness as he hit Mike Haywood and gave away a penalty. Up stepped former Gloucester fly-half Ryan Lamb who nailed the 40 metre penalty attempt to secure a win on his debut for Northampton against his former club. Lamb was not well known for his composure at Gloucester, however, he managed to settle himself and kick the vital goal for his new side.
After watching Toulon vs. Clermont this weekend, I was struck by how much ‘les Toulonnais’ were missing Jonny Wilkinson as their kicker. Philippe Saint-Andre’s men started the match positively with new signings Steffon Armitage and Mathieu Bastareaud causing damage in open play. However, Toulon could not make their pressure count as their 1st kicker; full-back Benjamin Lapeyre missed a long range kick early on. Then after more attacking play in Clermont’s half, fly-half Julien Dumora had a simple attempt that he pushed to the right of the uprights. Dumora went on to miss two more kicks at goal as Clermont were gradually building a lead with Brock James showing Toulon how to kick at goal and Jean-Marcel Buttin finishing off a fantastic flowing move following a searing break courtesy of Wesley Fofana. Dumora then added to Toulon’s woes when they were given a penalty in Clermont’s half. Dumora was not confident in his goal kicking so he elected to kick to touch. However, embarrassingly he missed touch and found the in-goal area. Dumora was taken off and replaced by Andre Pretorius, however, Pretorius missed a penalty to give Toulon a small chance of getting back into the game and then later, he opted to kick to touch from a penalty as Toulon could not guarantee the three points and they were too far behind to chip away at the scoreboard in the final quarter. Toulon could have quite easily won against Toulon with a good kicker; however, they wasted at least 15 points at attempted penalties and turned down two kickable penalties as they lost 17-0 at home. As far as RFC Toulon is concerned, they will be hoping Jonny Wilkinson returns after the World Cup group stage.
With the World Cup in New Zealand only days away International kickers will be putting in plenty of practice in order to prepare themselves for vital match-winning kicks. In 2003 England secured their first World Cup thanks to Jonny Wilkinson’s metronomic kicking routine. Against France in the Semi-Final, Wilkinson landed an impressive 24 points in appalling conditions in Sydney. Then in the final against Australia, he slotted 4 penalties and the iconic winning drop-goal in extra-time. Once again in 2007, England turned to Wilkinson to steer them into another World Cup Final. However, this time Wilkinson could not guide England to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy. Percy Montgomery, who ended up as the top points scorer in the 2007 World Cup with 105 points, kicked 4 penalties to put South Africa in a commanding position in the Final. They young and exuberant Francois Steyn added a final penalty to seal the victory for the Springboks, showing how important goal kicking is to grinding out victories.
It has been rumoured that Quade Cooper has been practicing his drop-goals in order to help Australia in the final stages of the tournament. Quade Cooper is a dangerous attacking threat, but some question his composure, it takes a special player to land the winning kick in a World Cup Final. Dan Carter can dictate play and has an impressive goal kicking record; many suggest that on home-turf with home advantage Carter is the man to lead the All Blacks to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy for the second time. Wilkinson should not be ruled out as a game winner; however South Africa’s Morne Steyn seems to have found his form just at the right time after scoring all of South Africa’s points in their 18-5 victory over the All Blacks. The question is, who do you think has what it takes to kick their side to victory in New Zealand?
Have you got thoughts or comments? Message below or post/follow @tommyd91 on twitter.This post was also posted on www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk
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