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BRUSSELS - Former England first five-eighths Rob Andrew has defended the role of goal kicking in international rugby a week before the World Cup kicks off in Paris.
Two of the last three World Cup have been decided by a drop kick in extra time with Jonny Wilkinson taking England to a memorable victory over Australia four years ago in Sydney.
In June, Australia coach John Connolly called for the value of drop goals to be reduced from three points to one.
"The argument over penalties and drop goals has been raging for years, but they are part and parcel of the game and drop goals can make or break a game which adds to the excitement," Andrew said.
"I wouldn't change anything about the rules regarding kicking. It is crucial because space on the pitch is at a premium these days and it is so tough to get enough space to put you in a scoring position that every advantage or opportunity to score counts."
Andrew drop-kicked the goal against Scotland which took England through to the 1991 final against eventual champions Australia. Four years later another Andrew drop goal eliminated Australia from the tournament.
While refraining from making any forecasts on the outcome of this year's World Cup, Andrew said strength in the depth would be the key factor.
"More so than any other World Cup, a lot depends on the depth of the squads. In the modern game, it is very much a 30-man tournament," he said.
"Scrums and lineouts are so critical these days and every team will pick up injuries, it's inevitable. It just depends who picks up what injury and how their replacement can cope."
Andrew said the overall quality of England's 30-man party could make them the first team to win consecutive titles despite their indifferent form since 2003.
"I am not going to make any predictions but I think we have a very strong squad of players right across every area and this is very important in respect to our group games which will be very physical and aggressive." he said.
England start their Pool A campaign against the United States on September 9 (NZ time) before facing South Africa six days later in Paris. Samoa and Tonga await the champions after that before a possible quarter-final meeting with Australia.
"The main priority is to get out of the group and then anything can happen," Andrew said.
"The real test comes when the tournament starts and how teams and individual players respond to the pressure on the day when it really matters."
- REUTERS
