Tech to keep Biggar kicking

DAN Biggar hopes cutting-edge technology can help keep him in the goal-kicking groove.

The Wales fly-half was left devastated when his kicking tee finally fell to pieces after 15 years of service and he could not find an adequate replacement.

But some of Cardiff University’s brightest minds got to work on crafting an exact replica for the international star using revolutionary 3D printing techniques.

It means Biggar – who plays second fiddle to Leigh Halfpenny in the kicking stakes with Wales – has been able to carry on as normal with his new tee.

“They’ve been absolutely brilliant and moulded a new one using 3D technology which is really impressive. It has the same marks and indentations.

“It’s the same material as well and I’m really, really grateful to them. It’s been brilliant and hopefully these can see me through to the end of my career. They’re making a few spares for me just in case I leave it on a plane or in a stadium somewhere.”

With more than 1,000 points to his name over the course of his Ospreys career, Biggar’s tee is of vital importance to him, as it is for all kickers. It had been his loyal companion during his rise through the ranks and travelled around the world with him on Wales and British & Irish Lions tours.

Biggar will move to pastures new next season, when he links up with Northampton Saints in the summer and he hopes his new tee can be as effective as the last.

Biggar has been a constant fixture in the Wales No10 jersey for the past five years, but this season he was one of three stand-offs used by head coach Warren Gatland in the Six Nations.

“I’ve had plenty of off days in my career,” Biggar added. “But at least when I do now, I’ll know I’ve got the same tee. If I’d had one with a different tee, maybe I’d have thought that was to blame or maybe I hadn’t worked as hard.”