"YOU CAN GET THREE POINTS SIMPLY IF A PROP SLIPS OVER IN A SCRUM ON HALFWAY"

Australian writer JON RICHARDSON demands a law change to reduce the number of kicks at goal

- JON RICHARDSON

RUGBY’S THREE-POINT penalty kick recalls an old Irish joke where travellers ask an old guy on the roadside how to get to Connemara. He replies, “Well, I wouldn't start from here.”

If we were designing the rules of rugby from scratch, it's hard to imagine we would award kicks at goal for almost all infringements. Nor would we give so many points for a penalty compared to a try, the main object of the game.