Alive and kicking

From age-old necessity to fashionable new trick, tactical kicking hasn’t so much gone full circle as undergone a serious rugby makeover.

Kicking from hand still carries some of its historical relevance in regards to alleviating pressure. The famed Garryowen hoist also remains popular, though back three players in particular seem more adept at chasing and retrieving these.

But the variety of kicks and the accuracy of placement and catching is fast becoming a trend in modern rugby. For all the worries about airborne collisions, this area of the game is an art form that must be retained.

The restrictive combination of fast defensive lines and saturated analysis makes life increasingly difficult for breaks and attacking raids to be launched.

Hence the need to find alternatives. Short chips, crossfield kicks, grubbers; the volume and success of all has increased. And it’s no longer about a wing simply chipping for himself but a first-five looking to hit a wide target.

All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barrett is but one exponent. Be it Kieran Read, Dane Coles, Julian Savea, Israel Dagg or Ben Smith, the All Blacks regularly use this ploy to open up areas of the field they can’t get to otherwise.

‘‘There’s a huge range of kicks we have up our sleeve,’’ Barrett said. ‘‘Players are drilled to call those and whoever is in position kicks it. It’s about playing what we see. If we’re not getting the ball to space with passing we can do it with a kick.’’ they had the All Blacks in major strife before seeing them roll over the top at Wembley.

Lifting their competitiveness from 50 to 80 minutes remains the Pumas’ major challenge.

They’ll also have to contend with highly motivated opponents, some of whom will be fringe All Blacks hungry to grab rare starting chances, with changes only adding to internal competition.

Liam Squire is favoured to come in for the injured Jerome Kaino on the blindside, and different combinations have run in the backline at training this week.

One school of thought is TJ Perenara could be in line for just his fifth test start, with Aaron Smith enduring a heavy workload this season. Perenara produced his best test performance off the bench in the last outing against the Pumas.