The drop goal frenzy sweeping the nation: what does Bryn Gatland's clutch kick mean for the future of New Zealand rugby?
Perhaps the opening match of the 2020 Super Rugby season was a sign of things to come.
The Blues had rushed out to a 14-point lead at halftime but the Chiefs came roaring back into the action in the second half and somehow found themselves five points ahead on the scoreboard deep inside the final quarter of the match.
Then, in the 75th minute, cool as you like, Aaron Cruden slotted a short-range drop goal to effectively take the game out of the Blues’ reach.
Suddenly, the Blues found themselves more than just one try adrift. It was a massive mental blow for the home side and it forced Harry Plummer into kicking a penalty with minutes remaining when plugging the ball into the corner and going for the winning score would have been on the cards were it not for Cruden’s drop goal.
The drop goal has never been the most popular way of accruing points in New Zealand. Perhaps it’s because every shot at a goal is one less chance at scoring a try of a beautiful sweeping backline move, perhaps it’s simply because Kiwis have been heartbroken too many times by opposition sharpshooters.
Any All Blacks fan could quickly recall at least a couple of times that New Zealand would have benefitted from having someone drop back into the pocket to slot the three-pointer – the 2007 World Cup being the best example.
Whatever the case, the drop goal has become somewhat of a dying art in New Zealand. Way back in 1999, every single New Zealand Super Rugby franchise recorded at least one drop goal during the season. In 2018 and 2019, however, there were zero successful attempts.
The Highlanders weren’t afraid to pull them out during the most successful periods of Jamie Joseph’s reign in charge, with Lima Sopoaga slotting four throughout their title-winning 2015 season (with Ben Smith and Marty Banks adding one apiece).
The age-old technique made a reappearance for the southerners on Saturday night, with super sub Bryn Gatland slotting a 35-metre attempt with just minutes remaining in the match to take the lead back from the Chiefs – who had just nudged in front thanks to Damian McKenzie’s own drop goal.
Given that drawn Super Rugby Aotearoa matches could now potentially be decided by a 10-minute golden point period, it’s no surprise that teams are already more comfortable pulling out the drop goal as an option.
“They’ve just slipped in [at training] every now and then,” Gatland told RugbyPass regarding whether there’s been a greater focus on drop goals in the lead up to the competition’s kick-off.
“You come to the end of a training and sometimes you’re training team vs team and the coaches might give a scenario where you’re down by 2 points, you’ve got a lineout on the 22 and you’ve got a minute or whatever it is and it’s golden point.
“Even just throughout training, we’ll have a stoppage and one of the coaches will just go, ‘Right, here you go,’ then fire you a pass for you to take a drop goal. That puts you under a bit of pressure so that if it does come – and we didn’t expect it to come in the very first game – hopefully you’ve had some sort of preparation and it’s not a shock.”
Following Saturday’s match, there were also a few attempts taken by the likes of Beauden Barrett and Otere Black on Sunday when the Blues hosted the Hurricanes – though theirs didn’t quite make it through the uprights.
"Having played so much of his Hurricanes' career off the back foot, Barrett must now love being a Blue."
– Hamish Bidwell reviews Barrett's first appearance for the Auckland franchise. #BLUvHUR #SuperRugbyAotearoa #BluesRugby #Hurricanes https://t.co/UdrMvr8FSa
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 15, 2020
Did Saturday’s wild finish inspire Barrett to have a go the following day?
“Absolutely,” Barrett remarked after the match. “I think people are a bit more aware of it with the whole golden point situation but if you’ve got a penalty advantage and a handy position, I’ll always back myself.”
The fact that both McKenzie and Gatland potted drop goals during the opening game of Super Rugby Aotearoa is a bit of a record in of itself. The last time that two opposing NZ teams recorded drop goals against one another in the same match was in the 1999 Super 12 final between the Crusaders and the Highlanders, with both Andrew Mehrtens and Brendan Laney stepping up to the plate.
On that night, Mehrtens’ Crusaders emerged victorious – then the Crusaders broke the Highlanders’ hearts once again three years ago when Mitch Hunt casually slotted an outrageous attempt from almost 45 metres out. Hunt, of course, has now moved south to link up with the Highlanders – but it was Gatland who came up with the heroics on Saturday night.
“Once [McKenzie’s] went over, I had a chat to Nuggy [Aaron Smith] and Mitch on the way back to halfway before the kick-off and we just said that there was still plenty of time and the next job was to basically do a short kick-off and work to get the ball back,” said Gatland.
“The way the game was going, turnovers were happening so quickly. When I was set up and ready, I thought that the longer we went, the more they were going to be ready to put pressure on for a drop kick so I just gave Nuggy a bit of an eyebrow – I didn’t want to clap my hands and make it too obvious.
“Brad Weber did put a lot of pressure on me. It might have gone from left to right but it kind of had to, because he was right on top of me – so it was a bit of a wonky one. I’m lucky it flew long enough.”
Don’t expect to see drop goals flying left, right and centre in the upcoming rounds of Super Rugby Aotearoa, however – there’s a time and place to pull them out. It’s clearly a practised skill that Gatland is ready to bring out whenever it’s called for, but it’s not going to be the go-to method for the Highlanders to score points.
“I don’t think it’s you ever want to have the plan to kick four drop goals and try and get 12 points, it’s more about creating scoreboard pressure,” Gatland said.
“If you saw that first game where the Chiefs played the Blues, Aaron Cruden had a drop goal to take them out by more than a converted try – that’s the kind of things I’m talking about.
“If you’re ahead but within a converted try or you’re behind by 9 points and not going anywhere then you put one over and the game changes completely. I think it’s more about putting pressure on the other team. If you have one early in the game and get the first three points, it just changes a team’s thinking.
“The drop goal is definitely something that can potentially be a weapon to a lot of teams moving forward and definitely something that teams should be keeping in their arsenal, practising for situations like what happened on Saturday night.”
Gatland’s thoughts mirror those of Cruden – who slotted that drop goal in round one but was on the receiving end on Saturday night.
“Just the way the game had gone and the situation we were in, trying to create a little bit of scoreboard pressure or give us a little bit of scoreboard safety was in the back of my mind,” Cruden told RugbyPass following that victory over the Blues.
“It’s a skill that I continue to practise and it’s something that my grandfather always made sure that I practised as well, always saying make sure that at the end of your training sessions, you do five or ten drop goals because you never know when you’ll need to pull it out. Obviously, that’s sort of paid dividends.”
Of the many players contracted for Super Rugby Aotearoa, just six have previously slotted drop goals in Super Rugby games: Gatland, McKenzie, Cruden, Hunt, Barrett and Dan Carter.
While we’re still in the early days of the competition, signs are strong that we’ll see more attempts in the coming matches – but only when the moment calls for it – which only adds to the hype of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Comments on RugbyPass
pure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
1 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
7 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
25 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
25 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
11 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
80 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
25 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
11 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
3 Go to comments