Devin Toner does the right thing and produces proper forward’s kick
It was getting ridiculous- forwards were slotting conversions left, right and centre. One week George Kruis had a three from three record against England, including his now famous back heel, then his former England teammate Tom Wood had a two from two record against Spain on Saturday at Estadio El Molinon in Gijon.
So it was up to lock Devin Toner, also playing his last ever professional game like Kruis and Wood, to restore normality in the second half against Spain and banish forwards back to the role of lineouts, mauls and rucks, and he did a terrific job.
Taking a conversion for an Owen Lane try in the second half, the 2.08 metre Irishman managed to get the ball closer to the corner flag than he did to the post. There is no shame in that though, as that is what many expected from forwards just a few weeks ago before Kruis and Wood’s reality-bending exploits.
Then again, Wood may not have been expecting a lot when he stepped up to take his kicks, and even chose to share his second conversion with his followers on Twitter. That is not something Dan Carter did too often. Take a look:
I’ll just leave this here. @Barbarian_FC @SaintsRugby @ButtsBarkers pic.twitter.com/vMNELN42wH
— Tom Wood (@tomwood678) June 26, 2022
Take a look at Toner’s kick:
