South African Rugby Star Breaks Record for the Longest Kick

The official record for rugby union’s longest kick was smashed by South Africa’s Tiaan Swanepoel in a recent challenge set by World Rugby. 

This is according to a report by Rugby Onslaught, which explained how Swanepoel has now bettered the existing record of 65.5 metres – which had previously been set by England’s long-range kicker, Elliot Daly – by hitting a mighty 70 metres and placing the ball successfully between the goalposts.

A challenge beaten and then bettered

As you can see from the official video, the challenge itself involves the competing players getting five attempts to see if they can better the past winners. They start at the 55-metre line and then increase this by an additional five meters each time. 

In this instance, Swanepoel comfortably managed the 55-metre and 60-metre distances on his first couple of attempts, before cheekily going for 66 metres to get the advantage over Daly. He then also managed this with ease, but despite being the record holder at this point, he wasn’t intent on stopping. So following this, with his final two kicks, Swanepoel went for 70 meters, missing the first time, but nailing it with the second. 

A new gauntlet laid down

Before his go at the challenge, Swanepoel had claimed that he was aware fans of the game are keen for his fellow Springbok Francois Steyn – who is famed for his strong and long-distance kicking game – to give it a try. However, upon his successful 70 metre kick he then called on Steyn to try and beat his efforts. Although, it might be a while before he does, as he is currently preparing for the next rounds of the Rugby Championship. 

Upon learning of Swanepoel’s success, Elliot Daly has apparently also already got back in touch with World Rugby to see if he can try the challenge once again. Some sources are claiming that because Swanepoel’s kick was most likely taken at altitude, it will have helped him. This is also something that Daly has allegedly pointed out and he is now keen to ensure that his next kick is also in a similar environment.

Not quite a World Record

Whether or not Swanepoel’s kick gets beaten in the near future remains to be seen, but despite the impressive distance he’s achieved, it’s arguably not the world’s longest effort. 
If you consult the Guinness World Records, the sport’s longest kick is reputed to be 91 metres at ‘Richmond Athletic Ground, London, by Douglas Francis Theodore Morkel in an unsuccessful penalty for South Africa v. Surrey on 19 Dec 1906’.