Rugby Coaching Blog | Professional Rugby Advice & Coaching

High profile players inevitably draw the most attention. Danny Cipriani, the England fly half, is certainly one. He has had three charged down kicks leading to tries in his six internationals.

Not a great strike rate. But his problem is common to fly halves who are long legged. He needs to adjust his kicking style to accommodate the longer levers when clearing the ball.

In normal circumstances, he will receive the ball in time to strike it with no pressure. However when he receives a poor pass with a defender bearing down on him, he should consider the following:

1. Half a stride steps to kick rather than normal steps.

2. Kick at an angle and not straight downfield.

3. Drop the ball from a lower height.

4. Run sideways to step into the kick and not run upfield.

And use my kicking practice from the Coaching Rugby manual, a video of which is out on Friday!