Most tactical kicks by the flyhalf will be to advance the ball
upfield and into touch. He will take this option most often to clear
the ball during heavy pressure. He can also kick the ball forward
expecting a fast charging back to recover the ball before the
opposition. Any person chasing a kick must have started the chase
from behind the kicker or have been previously overtaken by the
kicker or someone who was behind the kicker. Thus anyone in front of
a kick is offside until put onside by the kicker or someone who was
behind the kicker.
Another important aspect of tactical kicking is that
a kick to touch from behind the 22 metre line is marked at the point
the ball left the pitch. A kick taken in front of the 22 metre line
must land in field or a touch a player on the field before going
into touch, otherwise the line-out is awarded at the location of the
kick and not where it went out. A penalty kick in front of the 22 is
allowed to be kicked directly to touch.
Other tactical kicks include a drop goal kick, an
up-and-under, chip and grubber kicks. When a team is putting good
pressure on the opposing side's tryline, a player can decide to
attempt a drop kick at goal for three points. The ball must be
dropped and touch the ground before being kicked through the goal
posts to be awarded. An up-and-under is a kick placed very shallow
and very high. The idea is to put the receiving opposition players
under incredible pressure and give your own players the time to get
underneath the descending ball. A chip kick is best utilized in an
open field situation by a runner who is about to be stopped. As a
player cannot be tackled without the ball in hand, a runner can kick
the ball just over an onrushing defender allowing the runner, or
supporting runner, to go past untouched hoping to recover the kick.
A grubber kick is in principle much the same as a chip kick, but is
kicked along the ground
