KEY POINTS:
Springbok coach Jake White has been preaching about dropped goals all season. When his team meet England in Paris in their critical World Cup pool match in September the tactic is likely to get a good workout.
Those with decent memories will recall its value for the Boks in the same city in the 1999 tournament when Jannie de Beer kicked a world record five dropped goals to take his side past England into the semifinals.
Late dropped goals have become an anticipated part of the World Cup with that scoring method deciding the extra-time titles in 1995 and 2003 when Joel Stransky and Jonny Wilkinson respectively kicked their sides to triumph.
There have been other famous RWC winners like Rob Andrew kicking England to an injury time quarter-final win against Australia in 1995, Tongan fullback Sateki Tu'ipulotu's similar strike in 1999 for the win against Italy and Stephen Larkham doing the same for the Wallabies against the Springboks in the 1999 semifinal.
Away from the World Cup, Lions midfielder Jeremy Guscott kicked an unlikely dropped goal in 1997 to seal the test series against the Springboks while Percy Montgomery goaled a Tri-Nations winner from halfway against the Wallabies two years ago.
In 2003 Waratahs prop Matt Dunning expected similar acclaim when he swivelled and piloted a late 32m attempt between the posts to confirm his side's victory. Dunning's super shot was a brain explosion, though, and he was forced to apologise to his teammates because NSW had needed an extra bonus point try to qualify for the Super series playoffs.
The value of dropped goals has swung into focus again in recent weeks as Argentine five-eighths Felipe Contepomi completed a 22-20 hometown victory against Ireland and then substitute Francois Steyn dropkicked the Springboks to Tri-Nations victory last week against the Wallabies.
There was a touch of NFL about it when the 20-year-old Steyn came on and did the business with his boot.
It has been 11 tests since the All Blacks recorded a dropped-goal success when Daniel Carter kicked the only one of his test career at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane last year. In that same time the Boks have kicked eight dropped goals.
It was a topic for serious assessment this week by the All Blacks as they prepared for their Sunday start to the Tri-Nations in Durban against the Springboks.
"The drop goal is something you can't defend against," backs coach Wayne Smith said.
"It is a dangerous weapon."
Dangerous when Steyn is around, as he showed with a 60m boomer in a test last year against England and during the Super 14 when he easily cleared his target from 58m in difficult, wet conditions when the Sharks visited North Harbour Stadium to play the Blues.
He can also make a hash of some attempts like the effort in the Super 14 final when his kick slewed away towards the corner post. But usually Steyn is in the sort of zone he claimed against the Wallabies at Newlands.
His first kick was a pearler from about 42m near the touchline before he eased into the pocket behind the Bok forwards and ignored the onrushing Wallabies to chip a 25m matchwinner with minutes to spare. Smith, who clipped two droppiesduring his All Black test career, was impressed.
"I saw a photo in the paper of the last one he got, the ball was absolutely perfect in the way it hit the ground. That says to me he does a lot of work and is getting the rewards. He is as good as anyone in the world in that part of the game."
Springbok back coach Allister Coetzee said Steyn's first success was a result of the heat they placed on Larkham, the sort of treatment they wanted to replicate against Carter at Absa Stadium.
"We rushed Larkham and if you look at the first dropped goal from the touchline, it was pressure from Ruan [Pienaar] and he couldn't get the ball into touch," Coetzee said.
"Of course Carter's human. He showed it when we played them in Cape Town [2005] and we put him under pressure.
"If you stand back and wait for the New Zealanders they'll run you to pieces."
Statistics show the All Blacks will not dropkick the Boks to bits.
Before Carter's dropped goal last season, you have to go back to the 2003 World Cup to find another success - from Aaron Mauger - then the 2002 season when Andrew Mehrtens kicked the last of his All Black test-record 10 dropped goals.
The great Grant Fox is the next-best with seven test droppies while Don Clarke, Mac Herewini and Doug Bruce are third equal with five successes. Zinzan Brooke had three, including the last scoring act of his career against Wales in 1997.
The French had men like Monsieur le Drop Pierre Albaladejo, the Pumas could point to Hugo Porta and Wales have had deadly dropped goal marksman Neil Jenkins. Naas Botha banged over 18 dropped goals during his 28 tests for the Boks and Andre Pretorius has eight from 24 tests.
