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Undoubtedly the best part of the revamped Subbuteo rugby game was the kicker fullback, which made scoring penalties and conversions such a joy. If anything, it was too easy to use, as with minimal practise it was possible to kick penalties from one end of the field to the other (or probably from two or three pitches away). The first sets used this figure for all types of kicking, but the rules stated that players could only attempt three drop goals a match. A wise move, otherwise the game might as well have been one of those half-time hitting the crossbar competitions. What else were you going to do? Dribbling the ball in Subbuteo rugby is a uniquely frustrating experience.

That said, little beats the sheer joy when your opponent unexpectedly slices a kick wildly off target...

This page follows the Focus On C131and C132 page, which showed some of the corner kickers and throw-in takers in their more unusual colours. However, the fun in collecting rugby kickers is that none of the original 26 team references are really uncommon. As collectors quickly become aware, the rugby sets did not follow the football in having standard red/blue teams in the boxed set. Although early sets are often red and white hoops versus blue and white hoops, the 1970s sets could feature anyone. As each team had a specially painted kicker, the chances of picking up a good selection is therefore increased in the second hand market. In addition of course, the kicker fullback was released as a separate accessory RK. This was originally supplied in a box, before moving to a bag with header card. Both types exist in reasonable numbers within the community. I suspect there was still unsold stock floating around in the 1990s.

However, the 1-26 range is not the whole story. Subbuteo Sports Games increased the range in 1978 adding eleven more references, and altering three existing sides - R19, R24 and R25. These were all rugby league sides, and the teams are very rare. The kickers seem to be even rarer (although a few can be repainted). There were also nine Italian teams done as a "special" for distributor Edilio Parodi. However, I am unconvinced that the Italians also ordered kickers for these sides.

Whilst the main purpose of this page is simply to display all the colours that were produced, it also looks at the variations to kickers. As there are not too many kickers to cover, this page is split into blocks of five. This will hopefully give more room for the teams that need extra notes.

The Early Kicker.

The earliest kicker produced looked much more like a toy. Although they don't seem to have a long life, the original box set seems to have sold well, so finding these kickers in red/white and blue/white hoops is not too difficult. Other references seem to be more unusual. However, they do turn up boxed, so keep your eyes peeled. These will be illustrated when they are sent to me!

• A boxed reference 8:- Blackheath is shown. I've seen this team in the early kicker in a couple of different collections.
• Another boxed early figure in R16 St Helens colours. Note how short the arms are on these figures.
• I have a very poor picture of an early kicker in either ref 14 or 21.
• Note that there is a visible bit of the metal pin on the standing leg in this figure. This is not the case with the standard version.
• This kickers will always be on the grooved base with a riser provided.

The Standard kicker with grooved base and riser, and without (boxes).
The Standard kicker without riser bagged.

The more familiar updated kicker originally retained the base and riser from the first sets, but this proved an unnecessary complication and was dropped. You can get boxed kickers with or without the telltale grooved base, but the bagged kickers are all of the later type. Both boxes and bags should have reference number stickers, but like a lot of Subbuteo, these have often gone missing.

The Standard Kicker Checklist. Part 1. The original 26 sides.

• R5 New Zealand is unusual in that it was often produced in black plastic (as also used in the referees set). This obviously saved on painting, but coloured plastics were not overly common in Subbuteo Sports Games output.

• As with the teams, it is not easy to distinguish between R7 Barbarians and R19 Cardiff. I'm not sure even Subbuteo Sports Games knew which was which! At this bigger scale, the difference between blue hoops (here) and navy hoops (Cardiff) might be a bit clearer... maybe...
• Bradford Northern should have the red/amber/black hoops as a single chest band, However, as with the team set the hoops are sometimes spaced across the shirt.