Issue 154

Kicking kings

12th March 2007

Two steps back...two to the side...legs apart...hands together...look at the ball....look at the posts. This is the pose that Jonny Wilkinson has made famous, but how easy is it really?

I spent a morning kicking with Swanesa first XV players Adam Fotheringham and captain Richard Watkins to learn about the technique, psychology and skill required to be a kicker in a rugby team, with an eye to the quickly approaching Varsity game with Cardiff.

"I know it's a cliché but it is all about practice." Fotheringham spouts, "You have to find out what works for you and practice it until you can do it in any conditions, anywhere on the pitch."

I watch him do the now famous steps, the two meticulous paces back, then spin his left ankle through 90 degrees and then two more paces to the side, focus on the ball, then the posts, ball again, then approach the ball and strike it.

"That's all there is to it" I'm told, and I place a ball on the tee and follow the instructions...the first attempt is not that bad. It is fairly close to the posts, but then we are not trying to get the ball through them at the moment. We are at 90 degrees to the posts, along the try line, with one post to aim at practising accuracy.

This makes sense when you think about it, if you can hit one post, which is only about 10-15cm across, then when faced with a gap that is 5.6 metres wide it should be a doddle...right?

Fotheringham, Watkins and myself take turns to kick at the post before changing to the other side. I ask how many times would you actually hit the post, "Well...maybe once in every eight attempts" and sure enough he launches a ball that hits way up on the far post. Fotheringham goes on to show and walk me through the rest of his pregame kicking warm up, striking the ball now from in front of the posts, from both sides and from varying distances.

"I don't practice very well" Fotheringham offers. "I kick better under pressure, you concentrate more when you know you have people counting on you. Whereas here it does not matter if I miss a couple."

I ask what the difference is kicking on the pitches at Sketty and kicking at Cardiff Arms Park in front of thousands of people will be, "It shouldn't be any different, it's just another pitch, but on the day it might be different." In theory he should kick superbly with most of Swansea University wanting him to kick successfully, but we will have to see.

As we carry on kicking, Watkins talks about his style of kicking, which shows an alternative way of kicking the ball to Fotheringham's, which allows you to get better contact with the ball, but not as much distance with the kick. When asked about the Varsity preparations so far, he replies that all is going well, and the coaching sessions with Mike Ruddock - the grand slam winning Wales coach - were having a great effects on the team, "he has changed our lineout, and ran some new drills with the backs which have had everyone working hard."

Watkins also told me about the new kit the team are having this year, "its mostly white, but with thin green hoops, green shorts, and white and green socks, this year we are also having matching clothes for the party after - the rumours are matching knitwear."

The side are coming back a week early from the Easter holidays to make sure they are in top shape for the game, as well as being given fitness plans for the holidays. This will give Rich and the coaches a chance to finalise the names on the 25- place team sheet that will be announced probably the Monday before the big game.

The talk then moves onto more general rugby as we attempt kicks from varying distances. I ask who the boys admire in terms of kickers. "For me," says Fotheringham, "Chris Patterson is an awesome kicker, he gets almost everything, but within a certain distance." "Yeah he doesn't have the range of some of the kickers around," adds Watkins, "but for technique and temperement you have to admire Wikinson, he kicked us to victory in the World Cup!"

I ask how long Fotheringham spends practising this 'art'? "I don't do as much as I should, as I said I don't practice well, but I have a good warm up before each game and do about ten kicks from between six and nine different places inside the half." "I did go out once just after christmas before lectuers about 7am, it was still dark and pretty nasty weather, then out of the corner of my eye I saw a black shadow at the edge of the pitch, then it started sprinting towards me so I just grabbed my tee and ran!

When it caught me it pushed me over...and than starting licking me. It was only a woman walking her Alsasian, but I was still so scared!" I hadn't realised kicking could be so dangerous and scary. All in all the boys were really helpful and by the end of the morning I was slotting over the odd kick from either side of the posts - impressive as I had never kicked at posts before. I now have more respect for professional kickers, as I was missing kicks on my own on the field, never mind in front of 5000 patriotic students at Cardiff Arms Park or 80,000 to win a Six Nations game at Twickenham.

Matt Cannon