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Watch: Lima Sopoaga punishes Perpignan for poor goal-line drop-out
By Sam Smith
One of the biggest changes to the game of rugby first trialled at the highest levels during 2021 was the introduction of the goal-line drop-out.
The law change replaced 5-metre scrums for when attacking players are held up in-goal, and 22-metre dropouts for in-goal defensive touchdowns.
While it certainly forced a rethink for attacking sides when they were trying to churn the ball over the goal line from close range, lest it result in the ball being held up, it's fair to say that the world probably still hasn't fully adjusted to the law change. Certainly, we didn't see as many short kicks from the goal line as we would from the 22-metre line, but teams by and large took a similar approach to the tactics when sending the ball back to their opposition from the drop-out.
As former All Black Lima Sopoaga showed for Lyon over the weekend, that's a strategy that can be easily punished.
Shortly before halftime in the Round 16 Top 14 clash between Perpignan and Lyon at the Stade Aimé Giral in Perpignan, the home side were awarded a goal-line drop-out and fullback Patricio Fernandez stepped up to the mark.
Fernandez - who represented Lyon for one season prior to linking up with Perpignan - kicked the ball just beyond his team's 10-metre line where Sopoaga collected the ball and surveyed his options before slotting a perfectly placed drop goal under minimal pressure from the still far-away Perpignan defence.
It was as easy a set-up as a flyhalf will get, and Sopoaga had no issues banging the ball over from 39 metres.
The successful kick took Lyon out to a 9-3 lead - the same margin that ultimately decided the match, with the visitors triumphing 28-23 and holding third spot on the overall ladder.
The drop goal marked Sopoaga's second in three weeks for Lyon against Perpignan, with the two sides also squaring off in the Challenge Cup earlier this month, with Lyon also claiming a victory that weekend, 37-6.
That kick marked Sopoaga's first drop goal since representing the Highlanders, where he recorded six over eight seasons with the Super Rugby side.
While Sopoaga's kick wasn't the first of its kind since the new goal-line drop-out laws were introduced, it's a timely reminder that thoughtless actions on the rugby field can easily be punished.
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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