Ranking the Six Nations Goalkickers

Each year, the Six Nations brings together some of the finest place-kickers that the world of rugby has to offer, those figures who have to maintain their cool under intense pressure to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Goalkicking is a great equaliser in rugby, a place where even the smallest teams can thrive if they have the quality among their squad to take advantage.

We've taken a look at the standout kickers from each side in the 2015 tournament, identifying who sits highest when slotting from the tee.

Not every team relies on the conventional fly-half for their kicking duties, and although form in this year's competition is the most prominent factor, we've also taken into account each player's past pedigree.

Experience is also a factor, with the usual dimensions of ability from distance, tight angles and calm under fire accounted for.

6. Kelly Haimona, Italy

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2015 Six Nations Kicking Record: 1/3 (33%)

Some may feel Tommaso Allan should be the man featuring at No. 10 for Italy, but Kelly Haimona has thus far started both matches for the Azzurri and maintains the worst kicking percentage thus far in the contest.

Two conversion attempts against England in Week 2 were the first opportunities Haimona got to add the extras after seeing his side score and Italy were left disappointed to see him fail with both.

It's unsurprising the Zebre playmaker has found kicking opportunities limited, as Italy have struggled to amass penalties at the breakdown with the same frequency as their opponents.

That being said, confidence in Haimona's ability from distance is clearly not rampant, with the Italians opting to go for touch where some kickers may feel more capable of a shot at goal.

5. Camille Lopez, France

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2015 Six Nations Kicking Record: 7/10 (70%)

Left-footed kickers are in the minority at this year's Six Nations, and Camille Lopez has had a good-but-not-great time of things trying to give France the extras they've needed.

Romain Taofifenua scored Les Bleus' only try of the competition thus far against Ireland, but Lopez showed with that conversion attempt how limited that left boot of his may be with a massively wayward shot.

The Clermont magician is yet to leave a game having slotted all of his attempts, something a few of his kicking peers can boast after two weeks of the tournament.

4. Greig Laidlaw, Scotland

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2015 Six Nations Kicking Record: 5/6 (83%)

Scotland scrum-half Greig Laidlaw can count himself somewhat unfortunate not to boast a 100 percent kicking record after two rounds of the 2015 Six Nations.

The only effort he missed thus far was the conversion attempt from Dougie Fife's try in Paris, stuck as close to the touchline as one can possibly come, an angle just about anyone would have struggled with.

The Gloucester playmaker does a fine job of balancing scrum-half responsibilities, captainship and kicking by and large, one of the main reasons he holds a place in the starting XV over Chris Cusiter.

His pedigree as a No. 9 does speak for itself, too, but to have a player pip Finn Russell to the kicking duties so deservedly speaks volumes of his quality.

3. George Ford, England

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2015 Six Nations Kicking Record: 10/13 (77%)

Were potential a factor in these rankings, England's George Ford may well find himself contending for top spot, but based on what's been seen already, he still falls short in comparison with certain opponents.

With another year of international rugby under his belt, we may be speaking of the Bath youngster in different terms, but the fact remains that he still lacks the same pedigree as others ahead of him in this list.

In the effort to become England's next No. 10 great, Ford is working with Jonny Wilkinson's former kicking coach Dave Alred, who is quoted by The Telegraph's Daniel Schofield as confirming the fly-half is devout in perfecting his craft:

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He was a youngster clearly with talent and, more importantly, he had the right attitude. To me, attitude is everything. Jonny has got it, [Jonny] Sexton’s got it and George has got it. It is the business of being determined to get things right when the learning is a bit ugly. It is a steeliness.

There are always going to be days where you kick seven out of seven but often you don’t know why you did it. It is the days when things are not quite right and whether you can dig yourself out of trouble. In golfing terms, it is whether you can scramble and still get a good score.

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For one so young, Ford certainly possesses a maturity beyond his years, and it's that which will instil the belief that one day soon he'll be looked upon as one of the best fly-halves in the world—if he isn't already.

Ford has proven in this tournament and during last year's autumn Tests, particularly against Australia, that distance isn't a stumbling block of his, happy to have a go from the halfway line and perhaps further.

We have seen blips in his kicking game, though, anomalies that should iron themselves out as he gets more comfortable in the role, but it says a lot that we may even consider him superior to the accurate Owen Farrell in this respect, as well as others.

2. Jonathan Sexton, Ireland

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2015 Six Nations Kicking Record: 5/5 (100%)

Ford may be the flavour of the month, but Ireland's Johnny Sexton is the tried and tested warrior of the Six Nations arena, the man who soared against France last year to almost single-handedly claim Ireland's title.

Sexton gets a pardon in that he's the only kicker included on our list not to have featured in both weeks of this year's Six Nations, but his concussion-related excuse for the Round 1 absence is a valid one.

The Irishman has assuredly benefited from having national legend Ronan O'Gara drafted over to Paris to help with his kicking at Racing Metro, as well as working with the aforementioned Alred in the past.

Part of Sexton's allure is the icy calm he portrays in all parts of his game, and nowhere is this exemplified better than in his place-kicking, where one gets the impression he's perfectly content in a world of his own.

Complacency isn't a word that seems to fit the vocabulary of Joe Schmidt's No. 10, and although he may have some doubts from range, there are few you'd rather back to succeed in crucial moments when tensions are highest.

1. Leigh Halfpenny, Wales

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2015 Six Nations Kicking Record: 9/11 (82%)

Perhaps the biggest factor in why Liam Williams isn't already a staple of Warren Gatland's XV is the kicking form of Leigh Halfpenny, which is as good as a guaranteed handful of points for Wales every time he starts.

There aren't many tee technicians in the world whom one could say that of, but such is the precision and power the full-back frequently displays to hold his place as arguably the best goalkicker in the world.

With Wilkinson retiring from the game, it's also one of the main reasons Toulon chose to invest in Halfpenny's services last summer and he's since been a terrifically useful asset to their cause, too.

It seems so long ago that the former winger first burst onto the international scene and surprised the world's masses with one of the biggest boots in the game, with distances of 50 yards-plus proving no wall to his ability.

Kicking is also the main reason Halfpenny was able to break the British and Irish Lions record for both points scored in a Test series (49) and points scored in a Lions Test (21) during the 2013 trip to Australia.

One can doubt what the Welshman brings to the back line as a carrying option if they so wish, but you'd struggle to find a more reliable marksman in world rugby from the tee, irrespective of the circumstances.