Bomb kick
Encyclopedia
An up and under is a type of kick
Kick (football)
Kicking is a method used by many types of football, including:* Association football* Australian rules football* International rules football* American football* Canadian football* Gaelic football* Rugby league* Rugby union...

 in various codes of football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...

. It is a high short punt
Punt (football)
In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....

 onto or behind the defending team is a useful tactic both for attacking and defending. In Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 and rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 it also known as a bomb, while in rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 it is also called a Garryowen after the Garryowen Football Club
Garryowen Football Club
Garryowen Football Club , usually referred to as Garryowen, is a rugby union club from Limerick, Ireland. Historically it has been one of the most successful clubs in Irish rugby union leagues.-Name:...

 that popularised the use of this tactic.

Australian rules football

The technique is used to a lesser extent in Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 when kicking from deep in a forward pocket or half forward to full-forward
Full-forward
Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals.Leading full-forwards of the Australian Football League are usually among those awarded with the Coleman Medal for the most goals in an AFL season....

 and the goal square. The ball is given extra height so that a tall forward has a chance to mark
Mark (Australian football)
A mark is a skill in Australian rules football where a player cleanly catches a kicked ball that has travelled more than 15 metres without anyone else touching it or the ball hitting the ground....

 it above other players in front of goal rather than the player risk a low percentage kick from an angle or too far out to score.

Rugby league

The execution of a bomb is similar to the punt kick
Punt kick
The Punt kick is a common style of kicking in football games. It is described as kicking the ball without the ball first hitting the ground. It is practiced in many sports to some degree: Australian rules football, American & Canadian football, rugby league, and rugby union...

, with the main difference in execution being the angle held relative to the body and the position of the ball where the foot makes the contact. The ball is held vertically (upright) or parallel with the body. It is released with one hand on each side and the boot makes contact on the bottom point of the ball.

The result is a towering ball which should rotate end on end. The height of the kick makes the ball susceptible to wind which causes the ball to change direction. Also, the ball gathers speed as it falls closer to the ground and this combined with the swirling can also cause the ball to change direction, making it difficult for the opposition to take the ball cleanly.

In Australian rugby league, the bomb was popularised by Easts'
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...

 and Parramatta's
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...

 John "Bomber" Peard
John Peard
John "Bomber" Peard is an Australian former rugby league footballer and later coach. An Australian international representative five-eighth, he played for the Eastern Suburbs, St. George and Parramatta NSWRFL clubs in the 1960s and 70s...

 in the 1970s. However, by the 1980s, it became increasingly seen as a negative or unexciting tactic, and a rule change was made to lessen its effect: A bomb (or any type of kick) caught on the full in the in-goal area by the defending side now resulted in an automatic 20 metre tap restart, sometimes colloquially known as defusing the bomb. Grubber kick
Grubber kick
The Grubber kick is a type of kick in various codes of football with an oval ball which results in the ball moving erratically along the ground....

s or cross kicks are now often used in preference to bombing into the in-goal area.

In recent times the "Up and Under" was mastered by Bobby Goulding helping St. Helens to the inaugural Super League title, and several others after that. It was a common feature of the Saints and though it suffered criticism for its 'negative' quality (at the same time rugby union was under similar scrutiny for turning into a 'kicking' game) it was an extremely effective tactic. The risky nature of the ball (for the catcher) and the opportunity for the pursuing players to challenge for it made it an often comical, and controversial move particularly in the case of defensive players 'chickening out' under pressure.

In the 1970s the phrase "up and under" became associated with Rugby League in Britain, when it became the catchphrase of Eddie Waring
Eddie Waring
Edward Marsden "Eddie" Waring was a British rugby league football coach, commentator and television presenter....

, an English rugby league coach, commentator and television presenter.

Rugby union

In rugby union, the "Up and Under", also known as the "Garryowen", allows the attacking team to disrupt the defensive line, take the defence's pressure off themselves and put offensive pressure on their opponents. However, the kicking team risks losing possession of the ball, after which the opposing team may counter attack. In rugby union, the opposing team may choose to call for a mark
Mark (rugby)
To mark a ball in rugby union, the player must be inside that player's twenty-two metre line. The mark is performed by a player , making a clean catch and shouting "Mark!". It is also common for the player to touch the ball on the ground to make his intentions clear to the referee and other...

 if the ball is behind the opposition's 22 metre line line and caught cleanly. http://www.earlham.edu/~markp/mgmt_2003/schedule/7_styles/rugby_advanced2.htm#moving_ball

See also

  • Up 'n' Under
    Up 'n' Under
    Up 'n' Under is a comedy by English playwright John Godber, first staged at the Hull Truck Theatre in 1984. The sequel, Up 'n' Under II, followed in 1985....

     is the name of a play made into a film. It followed the story of a pub team in a rugby league sevens
    Rugby league sevens
    Rugby league sevens is a seven-a-side derivative of rugby league football, which is usually a thirteen-a-side sport. The game is substantially the same as full rugby league, with some rule changes and shorter games...

     competition.
  • Punt kick
    Punt kick
    The Punt kick is a common style of kicking in football games. It is described as kicking the ball without the ball first hitting the ground. It is practiced in many sports to some degree: Australian rules football, American & Canadian football, rugby league, and rugby union...

  • Drop kick
    Drop kick
    A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it when it bounces off the ground. It contrasts to a punt, wherein the player kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first....

  • Grubber kick
    Grubber kick
    The Grubber kick is a type of kick in various codes of football with an oval ball which results in the ball moving erratically along the ground....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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