NZ goal kickers

mimic

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="hydro11" data-cid="573738" data-time="1461185335">
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It's not arrogance, it's just about picking the best players. Not picking Cruden or Barrett because they can't kick goals at above 70% would be the same as not picking Wilkinson because his running game was average. Sopoaga kicked below 70% in last year's Super Rugby, this year he's world class. That should show you how variable these percentages are. Cruden was above 80% some Super Rugby seasons as well.
 
Barrett is kicking at 66% this season and that costs the Hurricanes less than 2 points per game. Most international teams would pick Barrett because he could easily get those 2 points back by individual brilliance.
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In 2014, Sopoaga was kicking at 84.4%.. 
In 2016, Sopoaga is kicking at 80.6%..

hydro11

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mimic" data-cid="573799" data-time="1461205076">
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In 2014, Sopoaga was kicking at 84.4%.. 
In 2016, Sopoaga is kicking at 80.6%..
 
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Billytell is saying that you need to kick above 70% to be acceptable. Sopoaga kicked at <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://rugby.statbunker.com/competitions/KickingStrikeRate?comp_id=477'>66% in 2015 Super Rugby. </a>
 
This means the All Blacks wouldn't have picked Sopoaga last year because his goal kicking wasn't good enough but would be picking him this year. I don't think that makes sense. The fact he actually kicked well in 2014 proves my point. You can't just look at the year to year percentages. You need to look at a range of factors, figure out how many points a bad goal kicker will cost you and evaluate how many points they can make up by being awesome.
 
FTR, these are Cruden's % by season
 
2015: 76%
2014: 71%
2013: 69%
2012: 78%
2011: 80%

taniwharugby

do you also factor in that when Sopoaga plays in Dunedin, he doesn't have to deal with weather, arguing that kicking should be easier...

mimic

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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="hydro11" data-cid="573803" data-time="1461209028">
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Billytell is saying that you need to kick above 70% to be acceptable. Sopoaga kicked at <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://rugby.statbunker.com/competitions/KickingStrikeRate?comp_id=477'>66% in 2015 Super Rugby. </a>
 
This means the All Blacks wouldn't have picked Sopoaga last year because his goal kicking wasn't good enough but would be picking him this year. I don't think that makes sense. The fact he actually kicked well in 2014 proves my point. You can't just look at the year to year percentages. You need to look at a range of factors, figure out how many points a bad goal kicker will cost you and evaluate how many points they can make up by being awesome.
 
FTR, these are Cruden's % by season
 
2015: 76%
2014: 71%
2013: 69%
2012: 78%
2011: 80%
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IIRC, during the AB RWC squad announcement, someone from the ABs camp (Foster or Smith) said that the reason for Sopoaga's low percentage was because the captain was so confident in his kicking abilities and were giving him tough kicks. 
It will be interesting to see the kicks he missed. I can only assume a lot were from out wide with Naholo's tries on the wing as well.
 
Also, according to <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://goalkickers.co.za/'>http://goalkickers.co.za/</a>, Cruden had a percentage of 67.8% in 2014, not 71%. 
 
 
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="573805" data-time="1461209731">
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do you also factor in that when Sopoaga plays in Dunedin, he doesn't have to deal with weather, arguing that kicking should be easier...
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In fact, its actually the opposite. There were kicking troubles there in the past. 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/7692768/Roof-turns-Dunedin-into-kickers-nightmare'>http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/7692768/Roof-turns-Dunedin-into-kickers-nightmare</a>

taniwharugby

is that still the case though, given that is 4 years old

Billy Tell

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="573807" data-time="1461211621">
is that still the case though, given that is 4 years old</blockquote>
 
You're right. Wind conditions might have changed at Dunedin Stadium in that time :p 
NB: the percentages I gave on kickers were not deciding on whether they should be picked or not. They were just what I think is roughly the perception if we look purely at goal kicking. Surely no-one will argue that 65% is a good kicking percentage for an international goal kicker. Of course he may have other areas of his game that make up for it.

Wreck Diver

Well I think Barrett just provided a great example of, if you don't kick your goals in a tight match your more than likely end up on the losing side.

mimic

same goes for Sopoaga, although i reckon Sopoaga's kicks were a lot more difficult..

cgrant

Sopoaga's goal kicking against the Sharks was shite. So was Barrett's against the Chiefs. Every goal kicker can have an off day with the boot. It just seems that BB has the bad habit to miss very easy penalties. A question of concentration or of a bad technique ?

antipodean

An off night I can understand, but experience should tell you what you're doing wrong and how to fix it. Having a number of off nights just means you're not putting in enough practice.

The Silver Fern

NZ goal kickers