A drop kick in rugby union 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...

 that involves someone dropping a ball and then kicking

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...

 when it hits the ground, in contrast to a punt

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...

 wherein the dropper kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first.

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...

, a drop kick is used for the kick-off and restarts and to score a field or drop goal

Field goal (rugby)

A drop goal, also referred to as a dropped goal or field goal, is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league. A drop goal cannot be scored in open play by punting the ball, and instead must be scored by drop kicking the ball over the crossbar and between the uprights. After the...

. Originally it was one of only two ways to score points, along with the place kick

Place kick

The place kick is a kicking style commonly used in rugby league and rugby union. It is also seen in Association football, American football and Canadian football.-American and Canadian football:...

.

Drop kicks are mandatory:

• from the centre spot to start a half (a kick-off)
• from the centre spot to restart the game after points have been scored
• to restart play from the 22-metre line (called a drop-out) after the ball is touched down or made dead in the in-goal area by the defending team when the attacking team kicked or took the ball into the in-goal area
• to score a field goal or drop goal (or dropped goal) in open play, which is worth three points.

Drop kicks are optional:

• for a conversion kick after a try has been scored, but this is rare, as place kicks are generally used for the conversion
• for a penalty kick to score a penalty goal, but this is rare, as place kicks are generally used
• when kicking for touch (the sideline) from a penalty, although the option of a punt kick is usually taken instead.

Additionally, in rugby sevens

Rugby sevens

Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...

, the drop kick is used for all conversion attempts which must be taken within 40 seconds of the try being scored.

Technique

The drop kick technique in rugby union is to hold the ball with one end pointing downwards in two hands above the kicking leg, and the fingers pointing to the ground. The ball is dropped onto the ground in front of the kicking foot, which makes contact at the moment or fractionally after the ball touches the ground, called the half-volley. The kicking foot usually makes contact with the ball slightly on the instep.

In a rugby union kick-off or drop out, the kicker usually aims to kick the ball very high but not a great distance, and so usually strikes the ball after it has started to bounce upwards off the ground, so the contact is made close to the bottom of the ball.

For the tactics of the drop goal in open play (field goal), see drop goal.