KEY POINTS:
The English have been doing it in private. The Australians, brash colonial upstarts, have been doing it in public.
The Argentinians don't care where they do it and never have, but New Zealanders haven't been doing it in recent years and nor do they particularly like talking about
why they don't do it.
This is, of course, dropping goals - now a subject of mirth and consternation in New Zealand as the nation is left to ponder for the next four years just why the All Blacks didn't try to move into field goal position in those final desperate 10 minutes against France.
The frustration is not eased any by the certainty that, put into the same position, France would have created a drop goal opportunity. England, Argentina and South Africa, the other semi-finalists, would also have had field goal on the brain in those dying throes.
Think back to 1995 and it was South Africa's Joel Stransky who broke the extra time deadlock with a drop goal. In that same tournament, Rob Andrew had put Australia out of the quarter-final with a long-range effort.
Four years later and Jannie de Beer famously struck five in one match to end England's hopes and then Stephen Larkham landed the first of his career in the semifinal to defeat the Boks.
Like anyone could ever forget, there was also Jonny Wilkinson's match-winner in 2003.
Come World Cups, everyone gets gripped by drop goal fever. It took a while for the infection to set in at this tournament, with the first goal being dropped by Portugal's Goncalo Malheiro against New Zealand.
Since then, though, goals have been dropped everywhere. Juan Martin Hernández kicked three in Argentina's 30-15 victory over Ireland, while Wilkinson dropped two against both Samoa and Tonga.
In the quarter-finals, the four teams that qualified all took regular drops at goal although Argentina were the only side to register a success.
Strangely, though, just two points behind against France with 13 minutes remaining, New Zealand weren't peppering the sticks with drop goals. They appeared to have some aversion to the option, choosing to pick and go in the hope they would force a penalty.
"We realised we had been in this situation before and we just tried to have composure," said halfback Byron Kelleher about the final period of the test. "We talked amongst ourselves that we should try and slow the game down - which is why we reverted to the pick and go to get close to their goal line.
"We didn't have any penalties in the second half and that was quite surprising.
"Maybe the drop goal could have been a good option if we had just picked and gone into the middle of the field and worked towards the goalposts. It was a good opportunity to get close and set ourselves for a drop kick."
That the opportunity was missed might have something to do with the mind-set, in that it appears as if everyone but the All Blacks had dropping goals as a specific part of their game-plan.
Asked on the Thursday before the game whether the All Black squad had been practising their drop goals in case the sides were still tied after extra-time, Luke McAlister laughed and said no.
He did, however, reveal that Daniel Carter had spent a bit of extra time practising his field snaps.
But, really, for the All Blacks, the drop goal was always down the agenda. Their first and overwhelming instinct was to score tries and apply pressure to win kickable penalties.
No one spent the week with drop goals on their mind, actually viewing it as a frontline tactic - it was always just something that might be done if there was nothing else on.
Compare that with England who revealed that, in the lead-up to the game with Australia, all the forwards had a go at dropkicking just in case and that No 8 Nick Easter thundered over a whopper from 40 metres.
The Australians, too, said they had given the tactic some thought with captain Stirling Mortlock, saying: "It is something we practised a little bit going into the World Cup. Berrick Barnes has practised his drop kicks and it is an option.
"We have seen England and Argentina use them and as the pressure increases you will see some more."
Mortlock's expectation is likely to be fulfilled in tomorrow's semi-final. The Pumas have managed four in their past two games and Springbok coach Jake White has been saying for months now that he believes the competition might end up being decided by a drop goal.
It was certainly the case that New Zealand's fate was sealed by a drop goal, or at least that is, the lack of one.
