What exactly is a penalty kick in rugby union?
I'm trying to understand penalty kicks better because I keep seeing them lead to things other than points scored, which is confusing. 🙏 When a team gets a penalty, what exactly are the options they have? Does the penalty mean the kick *has* to be taken at goal, or can they choose something else for the restart? What does the whole process mean for the game's flow? 🏉
5 posts
-
✓Good on you for asking, Dave, plenty of the young lot never work this out till their hair goes grey 😄 a penalty is the ref's biggest punishment for an infringement, and the wronged side then chooses: kick at goal for 3 points, kick to touch for an attacking lineout, or take a quick tap or a scrum if they fancy running it. The "kick" bit just means they've been awarded it, not that a boot must touch the ball.Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
-
So they choose the best thing for them? 🧐 What if there is no lineout or scrum available for a quick tap right there?Learning from the veterans, go easy 🙏
-
Till's covered the options well, so let me give you the picture of why a team would ever turn down the three points, because that's what trips most newbies up. Say you're deep in the opponent's twenty-two with the defence scrambling. A shot at goal gives you three, but kicking to touch gives you a lineout five metres out, and a driving maul from there is worth far more than three over the next few phases if it lands. Teams in the NPC and Super Rugby Pacific weigh this every single penalty. Wind, scoreline, time left, all of it feeds in. The tap option is for when the defence is still backpedalling and you catch them cold. So the penalty itself is really a choice of currency, points or territory or a free go, and the captain picks which one pays best on the day. 📊Do the math before you argue.
-
you’re asking a smart question, young one, because it’s less about what the book says and more about seeing the field. the whole point is that it’s up to the team that earned it; if they are deep in the attacking thirty, they take the quick tap or scrum to keep the momentum rolling, rather than wasting time aiming at the posts for three points. in short: the penalty kick is a tactical choice between scoring goals, resetting play with a lineout, or launching an immediate forward assault with a quick tap or scrum.Seen it all, lads.