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Is it legal to back heel a conversion in rugby?

By Ian Cameron
George Kruis kicking one of three conversion against England /PA

Rugby has a funny relationship with the back of the heel. To kick a ball with that part of the body is an outlaw practice in the game, which in many instances explicitly forbids it.

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On Sunday former England second row George Kruis delighted the crowd and neatrals alike when he back heeled one of three conversions over the posts at Twickenham. It was the lumbering Barbarians’ lock’s last professional game of rugby and the moment of playfulness against his old side was a joy to watch for all baring maybe Eddie Jones and his England team.

It might seem like a moot point given it’s a non-Test Baabaas’ game – but the nagging question remains: was it legal?

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Eddie Jones reacts to big loss to Barbarians | England vs Barbarians | Press Conference

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Eddie Jones reacts to big loss to Barbarians | England vs Barbarians | Press Conference

The definition of a kick in rugby is: An act made by intentionally hitting the ball with any part of the leg or foot, except the heel, from the toe to the knee but not including the knee. A kick must move the ball a visible distance out of the hand, or along the ground.

So from a defintion point of view, hitting the ball with your heel is not a kick.

It crops again in the rules on kicking penalties: Law 21.3 (a) How Penalty and Free Kicks are taken. Any player may take a penalty or free kick awarded for an infringement with any type of kick, punt, drop kick, or place kick. The ball may be kicked with any part of the lower leg from knee to the foot excluding the knee and the heel.

This Law clearly states that it’s illegal to kick a ball with a heel over the posts when taking a penalty. There’s no argument there.

However, it’s a little bit less clear when it comes to conversions, as in the protocols for conversion taking it does not explicitly mention the use of the heel.

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However, it does say: “When a try is scored, it gives that team the right to attempt a conversion, which may be a place-kick or drop-kick” and “For any goal to be successful, the ball must be kicked over the crossbar and between the goal posts without first touching a team-mate or the ground.”

The key word here is kick and how rugby defines it. So if a back heel doesn’t meet the definition of a kick in rugby and is specifically forbidden during penalties or free kicks, it would seem tha Kruis’ kick was sadly not technically legal.

A pedant might also argue that back heeling a conversion could also be said to go againsst the spirit of the game, although clearly Kruis’ effort was very much in the spirit of this Baabaas game. Back in the day Cardiff’s Mark Ring was told to write a letter of apology when he attempted and missed a back heeled conversion against London Welsh.

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With all that said there are obvious exceptions to this Law or rather occasions when referee tend to turn a blind eye to it. The classic trick play [as demonstrated below by Brian O’Driscoll] – in which a player drops a ball on their heel as they are running, only to regather the ball moments later after evading oncoming defenders, is technically illegal.

It could be argued that another example might be at scrumtime. Back in the days when hookers actually hooked, they would course use their heel and sole to direct the ball backwards at a scrum, although that may not qualify as a kick.

Refereeing is also about intereptation and of course you would have to be pretty mean spiritied not to think Italian offical Andrea Piardi made the right to allow – or turn a blind eye – to Kruis to heeling it over.

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Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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