This article analyzes Ireland's impressive victory against England in the opening round of the Six Nations, highlighting the pivotal role played by their tactical kicking game. It focuses on a key moment where Keenan and Lowe's quick thinking and law awareness prevented England from gaining a significant advantage.
Imagine yourself in the shoes of Hugo Keenan or James Lowe . Keenan just launched a perfectly placed grubber kick down England 's left flank, and he's sprinting after it. Lowe is right beside him, also chasing the bouncing ball. England 's wing, Caden Murley , is covering ground, but the ball keeps rolling towards the in-goal area.
If Murley waits patiently, lets the ball roll into his in-goal space, he simply needs to touch it down, and the game would continue with a goal-line drop-out for England. Not a terrible outcome, but Lowe and Keenan continue sprinting, putting pressure on the inexperienced wing. As they watch the ball trickle into the in-goal area, they might feel a slight tinge of disappointment. Murley just needs to ground the ball, and the pressure on England would ease. They start thinking about their next move – getting back into position for the potential goal-line drop-out. But suddenly, something unexpected happens. Murley isn't grounding the ball. He's actually turning upfield, seemingly determined to run the ball out. Now, what do Lowe and Keenan do? Most of us would instinctively charge at Murley. After sprinting 50 meters, they'd certainly feel justified in taking him down after his fumble. It would be satisfying to send him tumbling over the touchline, just a meter away, or even drive him all the way over to the Aer Lingus ad on the hoarding. But that's not what Keenan and Lowe do. Instead, they cleverly drag Murley in the opposite direction. They lift him out of the in-goal area, back into play, and then expertly dump him into touch. If they had driven him over the touchline, England would have been awarded a goal-line drop-out because Ireland had kicked the ball into the in-goal area. It's an incredible display of quick thinking, restraint, and a deep understanding of the rules. This moment epitomizes the old adage that a kick is only as good as its chase. This instance was particularly noteworthy during Ireland's Six Nations opener against England, where their kicking game played a crucial role in overcoming a halftime deficit. While the Irish kicking was generally excellent, there are always areas for improvement, especially when Kieran Sexton, now Ireland's kicking coach, and the key players focus on refining their technique. The game itself was relatively kick-heavy, with 66 kicks in total – 29 for Ireland and 37 for England. This high number of kicks was consistent with other matches in the Six Nations, such as France's victory over Wales (50 kicks) and Scotland's win against Italy (53 kicks). Ireland's very first kick set the tone for the rest of the game. Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park launched a magnificent exit box kick that allowed the chasing Mack Hansen to give England's debutant wing Murley a harsh welcome to international rugby. Gibson-Park's box kick soared for over four seconds, a testament to its quality. This hangtime allows chasers to either leap for the ball or position themselves for impactful tackles like Hansen's. Although Hansen suffered a left leg injury in the tackle, he quickly recovered and joined the ruck as Ryan Baird and Rónan Kelleher arrived, looking for an early turnover. Their counter-rucking efforts left the ball vulnerable, and Gibson-Park almost secured the turnover himself. However, England's counterpart, Alex Mitchell, wrestled the ball away. Smartball data provided by Sage Insights revealed that Gibson-Park had the highest average box kick hangtime among all players during the opening weekend of the Six Nations. Gibson-Park recorded the top three highest box kick hangtimes, with five out of his six box kicks ranking in the top 10 for hangtime. The kick mentioned above, while slightly shallower than Gibson-Park likely intended, still provided a remarkable hangtime. This allowed Lowe to bat the ball back, creating an attacking opportunity for Ireland against an English defense scrambling to reorganize. Even when Gibson-Park's kicks seemed to linger too long, they ultimately proved effective due to their height. This was particularly evident in the 44th minute when Murley completely lost track of the ball, creating a tense situation for England. Ireland had failed to gain ground on the first phase of a lineout attack when Gibson-Park went for a kick. The kick initially appeared too long and somewhat aimless, considering the lack of viable Irish chasers.
Rugby Six Nations Ireland England Kicking Game Strategy Keenan Lowe Murley Tactical Brilliance
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