And three cheers to that.

Over the past 20 years, kicking has earned a reputation, one created by those rugby snobs out there, as a wasteful and negligent tactic that only succeeds in giving the ball to the opposition. Putting boot to ball is still categorised by many as having in and around the same sophistication level as eating your young or belching in public. It seems to be some kind of cancer in the sport that people want to get rid of but let's not forget where this game has its origins.

Rugby came from football, a game where kicking the ball is pretty important. When William Webb Ellis showed his fine disregard for the rules of football back in the 19th century and picked up the ball for the first time, it would be fair to assume that he fancied playing a game that included both kicking and handling, not just a game where having the ball in your hand was everything. There's even a theory out there that Webb Ellis, who visited his cousins in Tipperary quite regularly, was merely showing the good students of Rugby School a version of Caid, the ancient Irish sport that eventually morphed into Gaelic Football.

All of which leaves us in a bit of a muddle as to why some rugby people want to forget about one of the game's most fundamental components, but thankfully the backlash has begun. In the opening game of the tournament on Friday last, Argentina decided that rather than bash their way through France to get to within scoring range . . . a process that might prove time consuming and energy sapping . . . they'd simply kick the ball to where they wanted it to go.

If we're being honest, Juan Hernandez scuffed at least half of the garryowens he launched high into the Parisian sky during that game but the tactic, even only operating at 50 per cent, still paid dividends. The statistics told the story. France enjoyed 60 per cent possession but only 45 per cent territory.

Why? Because Argentina weren't afraid to kick the ball into France's half while Les Bleus seemed petrified of returning the compliment.

The Canada versus Wales game and Ireland's match against Namibia both had similar themes.

It seems that the competition's smaller teams are getting cuter. One of the most important things to remember in rugby is that it's difficult, if not impossible, to score points from inside your own half. So you have to decide what's the easiest way of getting into the other team's half.

If you're New Zealand, keeping the ball in hand will probably work for you. For others, Ireland included, a nice mixture of both tactics probably suits best. For the minnows, kicking the ball into opposition territory and working hard on the chase represents their best option.

And the return to kicking has made the sport, and this World Cup in particular, much more interesting to watch.

Rather than seeing 15 bodybuilders bounce off each other for 80 minutes, we've seen garryowens, punts and grubbers disrupt the nicely-formed patterns of the world's top sides. Long may it continue.

The game is called Rugby Football after all.