The Scottish fly-half knocked it over from inside his half
It was another skintight Gallagher Premiership result in Brentford as Gloucester edged hosts London Irish 22-21 – thanks to an enormous Adam Hastings drop-goal.
The Scotland fly-half unleashed the kick from inside his own half (with some calculating it as going over from 53m) in the 61st minute, the first time the Cherry and Whites had led all game. The visitors held on for the win.
Check this out…
EXTRAORDINARY! ?
Adam Hastings with the drop goal!
What a kick ?#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/lFHIb9inDv
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) October 21, 2022
And yes, the TMO checked it out to confirm that, yes, the ball had cleared the crossbar. Magical stuff.
Post-match the man himself described the kick in the most Scottish of ways, calling it “hangin’!”
He told BT Sport of the nudge, “I thought I had made a decent contact. I had hit two in the warm-up from similar distance so I felt confident. It was actually a bit of a hangin’ one but they all count.”
And his team-mates were incredibly impressed too, with man of the match Val Rapava-Ruskin – who has had an incredible season so far at loosehead – said: “I have never seen a drop goal like that, he is a very talented player and he pulls off some amazing things. We are very lucky to have him.”
"I just thought I had made decent contact"
The man of the moment, Adam Hastings reacts to his audacious game-winning kick…?#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/zzoYYKP6Zx
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) October 21, 2022
"I've never seen anything like that"
"He's a really talented player and we're lucky to have him"#GallagherPrem Player of the Match Val Rapava-Ruskin reacts to a tough battle and glorious moment from Adam Hastings…? pic.twitter.com/wsmpgbOYcc
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) October 21, 2022
He wasn’t the only one who appreciated it, with Gloucester boss George Skivington said post-match: “Adam said it looked hangin’, I thought the kick looked beautiful.
“The guys have always go licence to play what is in front of them. It was sticky out there, we weren’t breaking them down, they weren’t breaking us down so moments like the drop goal make the difference.“
That win is Gloucester’s fourth from five; a great return so far this season.
Quite good Adam! https://t.co/od0il0WXLi
— Scott Hastings (@ScottHastings13) October 21, 2022
Here you go, courtesy of Ade the Stat. The world’s longest ever drop goal. I still don’t believe it. Balls were as heavy as a small fridge in the 1930s. Good fun tonight. pic.twitter.com/i8eKPcAPDG
— Nick Mullins (@andNickMullins) October 21, 2022
It wasn’t all excitement and fun on Friday night, though, with England fans and Eddie Jones no doubt ruing injuries in this match for both Henry Arundell and Jonny May. The young Irish star collided with team-mate Ben Loader and limped off with an ankle injury, while may suffered a suspected dislocated elbow.
Both had been named in Jones’s England squad for the autumn.
Hastings had been recalled to the Scotland squad for the upcoming Test run and with Finn Russell a surprise omission, the Gloucester man is making a strong case to have the ten jersey for himself.
Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.
Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.