Jon Richardson, an Australian correspondent and former diplomat, says penalty attempts at goal should not be allowed from distance

If we were designing the rules of rugby from scratch today it’s hard to imagine we would award kicks at goal for every penalty infringement.
Nor would we give so many points for a penalty kick compared to a try, the main object of the game. Or allow such kicks from anywhere on the field, even in your own half.

The system of five points for a try, three points for a penalty goal is the product of history, not rational design. Originally, points scoring was based...