It may not be exactly a return to the bad old days of ‘kick and clap’, but the amount of kicking in the game of rugby is beginning to worry some high-profile pundits and influencers. When the rules around the pursuit of a high ball were tweaked in late 2024, with the ‘escort service’ previously allowed to the receiver now denied, all seem set fair for a better game. The high ball contest was going to be cleaner, more straightforwardly man on man, and everyone else had to get out of the way.
The practice has proven rather different to the theory. There has been a noticeable bulge in the ratio of high contestable kicks: the average number of kicks per game in the first round of the Six Nations rose to 79 from 60 the year before; there were 82 kicks in the first round Super Rugby Pacific encounter between the Highlanders and the Crusaders, and after three rounds of play there is an average of four more kicks per game than there were in the 2025 competition.
To a rugby nation like New Zealand, which has historically prided itself on its ability to work magic with individual skill-sets, ball in hand, the new development is a concern. As ex-All Blacks wing Jeff Wilson recently observed on Sky Sport’s The Breakdown:
“We finished a whole season last year, at the end of the year, talking about kicking the ball away and turning possession over.
“And then in the very first game, we saw 80 kicks. That’s not New Zealand Rugby. I’m sorry, keeping the ball in hand, you can’t play with fear.
“Because for me, the number of times the moment it broke down, teams were going to a box kick in the attacking half, not even in the defensive half, the exit.
“That’s an attacking strategy. I just I don’t accept that that’s in the best interest of our game, and given the skill sets of our players.”
Wilson’s cohort Stephen Donald added a footnote on the change in mindset underpinning the kicking game: ‘you look at mentality, you look at the Highlanders, how they came out – that was defence-focused, and even the Crusaders how they’re kicking it a lot, box kicking and then trying to get defensive.’
The latest figures suggest that the ratio of clean catches may have dropped by as much as 20% compared to the ‘escort era’, with proportionally more benefit to the kicking-and-chasing side. There are more loose balls to be harvested from the contestable kick for sure, but has the spectacle of the game improved as a result? The jury is still very firmly out.
One the major issues with the new rules is the number of chasers and/or receivers learning how to imitate a genuine contest for the ball. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but in rugby terms, it is also highly dangerous. The following incident occurred in a recent EPCR game between Montpellier and Connacht:
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) February 23, 2026
In this instance there are two Connacht chasers [in white] full extended and reaching up for the ball in the air. Ex-Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg is clearly coming second best but nonetheless chooses to ‘launch’ from a few metres distant into the contest. This is an imitation of a true challenge and in Basketball at least, it would be penalized as a ‘charging foul’.
Far more often, the charging foul is committed by the chaser rather than the receiver. One of the full-back who suffered from the growing incidence of charging fouls is England’s Freddie Steward. Steward is 6’5” tall and weighs a hefty 105 kilos, and he was probably the best in the world at claiming clean receipts of the high ball under the old rules.
Now, he finds himself questioning the legality of chasers launching contest without any realistic chance of catching the ball. He made his point in an interview with The Daily Telegraph:
“When they [chasers] are at top speed and just lurching, you can question whether they are in control of themselves. That’s for the referees and assistant referees to judge. Food for thought.
“It’s too easy for wingers just to be a nuisance. It probably lacks a bit of skill just being able to throw your body in and flail an arm. A law-change, where they would have to make a genuine attempt to catch the ball would be really positive.”
Steward has suffered more than most from charging fouls in the latest edition of the Six Nations:
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) February 23, 2026
The chaser ‘sails into contact’ on a wing and a prayer, and the England full-back finishes flat on his back. There was a positive sign of change in refereeing attitude in the recent game versus Ireland:
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) February 23, 2026
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) February 23, 2026
In round three of the Six Nations, Steward once again found himself on the wrong end of a charging foul, but this time he was on the right end of the decision made by Italian referee Andre Piardi. Ireland’s Tommy O’Brien is launching from about two to three metres away, with his leading knee raised like Hogg’s, and there is no realistic of him making a catch. There is however, every chance of him preventing Freddie Steward making a clean receipt and creating a loose ball, and that is his underlying aim.
Summary
Andrea Piardi made the right call and hopefully his actions will set the trend for future interpretations of the kick-chase rules. Play the ball, not the man in the air. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it is also reckless and potentially dangerous to the receiver’s health. Rugby should not follow Soccer down the path of tolerance for various forms of simulation. It is not a skill which deserves to be rewarded.
