Whisper it quietly, but we saw less kicking in this year’s Six Nations.
Someone tell Brian Moore. He is famous for many reasons but, in this context, it is for an infamous retort – “They’ve kicked it away again, for God’s sake!” – when commentating on England for the BBC way back when.
Some people just don’t like kicking. It isn’t the beautiful game. A fact which renders this year’s kicking data of particular intrigue.
During the recently-concluded Six Nations, kicking trended downwards. Every team kicked for fewer metres than they did in 2025. The number of total kicks in open play dropped for five of the six teams, Ireland the only exception as their kick volume bizarrely stood pat (142). Across the competition, kick volume dropped by seven per cent as a whole.
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The recent tournament also broke the record for the number of tries scored in a Six Nations with 111. Coincidence? Plenty who are predisposed to see kicking as boring rugby will have their world views vindicated. Teams kicked less and scored more. Rejoice!
Only it might not be that simple.
Last year saw a then-record 108 tries in the Six Nations. This was despite the total kick metres of four of the six teams increasing on the 2024 total. Five of the six had more kicks in play in 2025 compared to 2024 and it was still a record-breaking scoring year. There goes the theory that fewer kicks equals more tries.
So what gives? Can we find any link at all between kicking, tries scored and entertaining rugby?
Take the first round of the Six Nations. Ireland, criticised for sticking to an unsuccessful kick-heavy game plan in Paris, made 1,024 metres with the boot during their opening defeat to France. Fast forward to the end of the competition, they only kicked for 535m in their victory over Scotland. Their total kicks dropped from 39 in round one to 22 in round five.
England had a similar dramatic fall from one end of the competition to the next. When beating Wales in round one, a whopping 1,332m came from the boots of English players. That dropped to 568m in Paris. We could go on; every team began the Six Nations with higher kick metre totals than they finished.
While not always linear, teams finished the tournament kicking less often and for less yardage than they started. During the last round of matches, 29 tries were scored, a tournament record for one day of action.
Despite the overall drop, the importance of kick metres still prevailed. Of the 15 matches in this year’s Six Nations, 14 were won by the side which made more metres via the boot. The exception was Ireland beating Wales despite being outkicked to the tune of 412 versus 639 metres.
There are a few theories that might explain the drop in kicking. When using the boot to advance position, it can be somewhat of a lottery. If kicking short, there’s no guarantee of getting the ball back. If going long, the risk is the opposition will either kick back effectively or find a gap to dangerously run the ball into space. Perhaps, then, teams have seen the risk-reward calculation of attacking via the boot fall out of their favour. Time to instead keep hold of the pill.
Digging further brings up some numbers that should dispel this theory. Despite total kick volume dropping, the number of box kicks in 2026 increased by 20 per cent. Four of the six teams increased their box kicks. England, despite perceptions on how Steve Borthwick sets up his team, actually box kicked less often while Italy had the exact same total as last year.
Metres per kick is another stat worth mentioning. For five of the six teams (Wales being the exception), that figure dropped from 2025 to 2026. Fewer kicks found grass this year compared to last. Four teams saw an increase in the percentage of kicks that were won back by chasers.
Put this all together and it becomes clear that short, contestable kicks that have a better chance of being retained have become the flavour of the month. Teams don’t really kick long and on as much as they used to. Longer kicks instead come when looking for touch from the 22. France would be a notable exception, seeing as their attacking game plan appears to revolve around any sort of kicks – be they short or long – for Louis Bielle-Biarrey to chase.
On the whole, teams are kicking less frequently but box kicking more. Clearly, they aren’t wary of the risk of failing to regain possession – otherwise they wouldn’t be more reliant on the most contested kick option there is.
Time for theory number two. If kicking has gone down while box kicking went up, and we saw an increase in total tries scored, did short, contestable kicks simply become more effective at creating dangerous attacking opportunities?
This question is slightly more difficult to answer, but there is some evidence to suggest that teams are improving in their transition attack. If they are better at chasing kicks and making use of the resulting possession, then it requires fewer total kicks to advance down the field.
Ireland have focused significantly on this area of the game. Against France, they won barely a high ball and duly struggled to make a dent. Against England, Robert Baloucoune’s try came directly from winning a contestable attacking kick. The field position for Dan Sheehan’s score was also worked from chasing a high ball.
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Italy’s match-winning score against England started with a crosskick. France created attacking opportunities aplenty against Ireland when chasing kicks from Antoine Dupont. Against England, Matthieu Jalibert forced a score with a short grubber towards his Bordeaux team-mate, the red-capped roadrunner. According to English journalist Charlie Morgan, 17 tries in this year’s championship featured a kick on the scoring phase.
If this is our most likely explanation for the decrease in kicking, it leaves rugby in an interesting position. Kicking is not ‘boring’ in the sense that plenty of teams have become adept at using shorter kicks to create quality attacking opportunities. In fact, sides have become so good that they actually kick less overall, as the effectiveness of the kicks that do come means there is no need to overdo it.
Of course, all of the above risks looking at one 15-match sample and attaching overarching narratives quickly fall out of date. When international rugby returns in July, it only takes one or two astute defence coaches to figure out how to make kick-transition attack more difficult and the whole picture changes. A different cycle may well then take hold.
Regardless, in this tournament alone, what we can say is that both kicking went down while try-scoring went up. The two may well be linked, but just not in the way that many think. While it’s difficult to overwhelmingly prove, there is at least some merit to the idea that teams have become so good in their attacking kicking game that they don’t actually have to put boot to ball that often.
For evangelists of the church of boring kicking, that is a strange truth to reckon with.
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