Should Blues first-five Harry Plummer have taken more kicks at goal? Photo / Photosport
Should Blues first-five Harry Plummer have taken more kicks at goal? Photo / Photosport
COMMENT:
Take the easy three points or risk it for five or seven? The refusal of New Zealand teams to kick for goal when awarded penalties in Super Rugby continues, with the South African teams leading the way with what will probably be considered rank conservatism here and smart pragmatismat home.
A week ago Sharks first-five Curwin Bosch kicked seven penalties as his side drew 21-all with the Crusaders, who scored three tries, including one after the final siren by Mitchell Hunt, which, crucially, he converted.
A few hours later, Handre Pollard kicked three penalties in his side's 28-21 victory over the Waratahs in Pretoria. The Waratahs didn't kick one.
Over the recent weekend, the Kiwi reticence to take what in some cases were easily kickable penalties was again noticeable and in some cases, it was a genuine strategy.
Richie Mo'unga didn't attempt a single penalty shot for the Crusaders in their 45-13 victory over the Bulls in the thin air of Pretoria; the top-of-the-table visitors instead wanting to stretch the Bulls at every opportunity, a tactic that paid off handsomely despite their recent long-haul travel.
The Crusaders' Richie Mo'unga has hardly attempted a penalty kick at goal this season. Photo / Photosport
In fact, Mo'unga, who has played 10 matches this season, has attempted only five penalties in total. Bulls counterpart Handre Pollard has attempted 39 at an average of 3.4 per game.
The Blues were awarded at least two kickable penalties against the Hurricanes in the first half of their 22-12 defeat at Eden Park and preferred to kick for the corner, a tactic that failed to reap any points. They did it again after the break.
It's difficult to predict but picking up points there could have changed the complexion of the game. Instead, the Blues were left chasing it in the second half and conceded a try to Beauden Barrett via an intercept pass when the game was in the balance.
In the second half, the Blues packed down five scrums in a row on the Hurricanes' line; a series of decisions quite rightly defended afterwards by coach Leon MacDonald because the visitors were in trouble and lost tighthead prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen to a yellow card when they could also have conceded a penalty try.
"We felt like we were mounting pressure," MacDonald said. "We had a period there when we counted seven penalties in a row and we felt we wanted to ensure we were twisting the knife and putting pressure on the referee to make a call. We had a scrum and we were marching forward and we only got a penalty.
"There we all these little moments there when we were going 'jeez, we're not far away', and then something happens at the back of a scrum; TJ gets in there because he's a competitor and manages to spoil it."
The Blues' decision to hammer away at the Hurricanes' scum was understandable; their determination to kick for the corner less so.
The Blues conceded a try to the Hurricanes' Beauden Barrett via an intercept pass when the game was in the balance. Photo / Photosport
It was an attacking strategy that found its way into the All Blacks last season and it cost them in Wellington against the Springboks. Afterwards, they were left in no doubt by coach Steve Hansen that they should have taken the points on offer late in the game.
Test rugby is a different game, of course, but the Kiwi teams, and in particular the Blues, aren't quite getting the balance right. Non-converts will argue there is no guarantee penalty kicks will go over either, but if it's about statistical probability (and continued field position in the case of a miss), a kick attempt should win out nearly every time.
As the playoffs approach and the weather deteriorates in New Zealand, taking the points on offer rather than risking it all for seven must be taken more seriously or some teams could end up kicking themselves.
