Wales kicking coach Neil Jenkins admits rugby fans don't pay to watch players continuously kick the ball, but has elaborated on what Wales are trying to do.
The Wales v England Six Nations clash, in particular, saw both teams choose to kick the ball away repeatedly, leading to frustration from some, including Jonathan 'Jiffy' Davies, while former Wales centre Tom Shanklin believes Wales don't know what they're meant to be doing with the ball and that is why they are gifting possession away.
“We are kicking the ball and trying to force teams into mistakes," he said. "I just don’t think that’s the right mentality anymore. You need to win games differently. The game has moved on. We need to adapt. It was a real pragmatic approach against England which is going to put people off watching Wales."
Now, Wales kicking guru Jenkins has opened up on Wales' kicking gameplan.
He said: "At the end of the day people don’t pay to come watch people kicking the ball left, right and centre, but it is very difficult when you play at this level because there is not an awful lot of space.
"If the ball slows, can you get back on the front foot by winning an aerial battle? Teams actually practise receiving kicks an awful lot because the reality of today’s game is that setpiece is about 30% and 70% is basically unstructured, so most of the possession you get is from kicks or turnovers. It is about adapting to that.
"If a team kicks a lot you either have to match that or better that. England last week kicked 36 times, we kicked 34. It was an arm wrestle, a tough game, not willing to give up territory easily because a lot of sides these days when they do get into that 22 they are pretty accurate. We found that with Ireland, when they got in there they were difficult to contain. Scotland the same. We probably contained England a lot better but again we couldn’t get anything ourselves.
"It is about being smart about how you go about your kicking game. It is not about kicking the ball willy-nilly. Compete, kick into space, attack kicks, there is so much that goes on in that and a lot of the time it is relieving pressure, can you get yourselves out because the chasers are generally good. There is an all-round balance and we are trying to get to grips with it."
He admits, though, that even he doesn't want to see the ball being kicked at every opportunity.
"Even though I look after the kicking I don’t want to see us kicking the ball all the time! People pay a lot of money to watch these games. It is a professional sport and there is so much analysis going on, looking for any fraction you can gain, whether that is by kicking or ball in hand.
"Italy are obviously playing their brand of rugby and Ireland are very good at what they do but watch most top sides and they do not play much rugby in their own half. If they do it is off turnovers and there are clear opportunities. A lot of the time is trying to work your way up the pitch and trying to go after them in a positive way."
As for any prospect of new laws, he said: "The game is in a good place at this moment in time, it can obviously get better but if that is the way the game wants to move - fewer substitutions or players playing longer - then we will move with it."
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