Why kick front-foot ball?

1. More time, better kicks

If you have the ball going forward, defences are on the back foot. That means they will not be quickly up in defence (poor defensive line speed). That gives your kicker more time to place their kick. Not being rushed means better execution of the skill.

2. Keeps the defence honest

Kicking when you are going forward makes the defence think that they need to keep players in their backfield to cover future kicks. They might drop one or both wingers, leaving spaces in their frontline defence.

3. Pressurise pressure points

With defences not in position to attack the kicker and perhaps not in position to defend the frontline, kickers can find more gaps which are not adequately covered. That can pile on the pressure because defenders are scrambling back even more.

4. Time for territory

Even with good possession in this phase, the next phase might be slow. Take advantage now if you are outside your 22m but in front of their 10m line by taking the territory. Kick to the corners and force them to kick out or run back from deep. If they kick back, you will have your backfield players in position to run back.

5. You can retain possession

You can use contestable kicks, with your chasing group moving forward onto the ball. Employ chips, grubbers or up-and-unders to give you a chance of catching the ball or putting defences under so much pressure that they cough up possession in the form of a knock-on or penalty.

And don’t forget, you can exploit the 50:22 rule, where a kick that bounces into touch when kicked from your own half means it is your throw in to the lineout.

6. Keeps forwards happy

You cannot underestimate the effort your forwards make in a set piece scrum and a good couple of hard rucks. They will be delighted to see their hard work mean they are running forward, either following a kick or to the next set piece.

Look at the defensive cues and how to read them on page 5. And to counter these kicks, Colin Ireland shows you how you can make your back three catchers more confident on page 6.