Field Goals Adds To The Total Rugby Points
Watching rugby makes much more sense and becomes far more enjoyable when you understand the rugby scoring system. Once interpreted it is quite simple to follow and once you grasp the points value for each activity you will find the game more stimulating.
There are a few fundamental ways to put points on the rugby scoreboard. They are the try, penalty try, conversion, penalty goal and the drop goal (also known as field goal or drop kick).
The conversion and the penalty goal require a specialist kicker to place the ball and kick it between the vertical goal posts and over the crossbar of the goal posts. The kicker may select between using a kicking tee, pile of sand or sawdust to kick the ball from. He steps back and then runs up to the ball prior to kicking between the posts.
A drop goal is different to a conversion in that the player drops the ball from his hands and attempts to kick the ball over the crossbar and between the vertical goal posts during the run of play. It is a specific skill, and field goals are rare - they take precise timing and lots of practice to master.
A referee can give a penalty try if he believes the defending team purposely fouled the attacking team in order to prevent them finishing a move that would have resulted in a try being scored. The official phrase is ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.
To show this the referee runs to a central point beneath the crossbar of the goalposts, raises his arm and blows his whistle. The attacking team gets the chance of a conversion kick with the chance to add points to the total.
Touching down a try is the best way to rack up points in rugby. A try is recorded when the attacking team crosses the defending teams goal-line and places the ball on the ground in their in-goal area. When a try is scored the referee lifts his arm and blows his whistle. Scoring the try and the penalty try are valued at five points each.
On a try being scored the referee stands at the point where the try was scored and points in a line back up the pitch parallel to the sidelines. The goal kicker can take the conversion attempt at any point along that line.
Usually the kicker takes the conversion attempt somewhere he/she feels happy around 20 - 30 metres from the goalposts. Converting the try adds 2 points to the try scoring side. When a team successfully kicks a penalty goal they are awarded 3 points.
While a team is making a conversion attempt, the defending team must stand on or behind the goal-line. As the kicker gets ready to take the conversion, the players are allowed to rush the kicker as he begins his run at the ball.
The tally for a converted try is a total of 7 points (5 for the try and 2 for the conversion).
For any team to reach the top there is a requirement for a prominent goal kicker to be in their team. Goal kickers are immensely valuable as there are many indiscretions in the play of a normal rugby game.
Any of these indiscretions being made in a teams defensive area of play gives a chance for their opponents to score valuable points against them. A kicker who can successfully kick a goal from any area of the field instantly puts incredible pressure on the opposing team.
A top class goal kicker in your team, with a specialist field goal kicker or two, definitely makes a great basis for any team to get their highest rugby score. It also puts pressure on any team they play.
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