Ask a rugby pro

[BeingRugby]

I am part of a group of professional rugby players who created www.beingrugby.com. The site is not for profit we use all proceedings to help develop and support grass roots rugby. The aim is to provide professional training advice, tips and secrets from players who are at the top of their game. All the content on the site is created by professional rugby players. I have started this discussion board to see if there are any areas of your game you would like to improve. Leave a post below and our team of pro players will do their best to help you.

 

[Counties NZ]

My pro tip is trys get 5 points, potentially 7. Penalty kicks only 3. Back yourself to get the 5(7) instead of trying to win games with the 3 point penaltys.

 

[BeingRugby]

Interesting point. I would have to disagree with it though. As defences are becoming better and more organised there is less space on the pitch. It is becoming a lot less likely to see the high scoring (50+) games. The 2015 Rugby World Cup showed that even the lesser nations were pushing the top tier sides close through a simple game plan and a well organised defence. This is why its becoming more important than ever to take the points when they are available to build a score especially as games are becoming closer those 3 points could be the difference between winning and losing. Your point about going for the tries over taking a penalty is good in theory it would be great for the spectators. I know you can say look at Japan they went for the try and ended up beating South Africa in the World Cup in the closing minutes of the game. The problem with that is Japan had nothing to lose they were never expected to even come close to South Africa so why not kick it in the corner and go for the win. But as we all saw with England in the World Cup going for the corner hoping to score a try instead of taking the 3 and drawing the game against Wales proved to be fatal.