Collecting Billy Twelvetrees’ goal-line dropout, Dan Robson set himself and from 45 metres connected sweetly with a drop goal attempt to give Wasps the lead at Kingsholm.

The fact that Robson executed it so well was not an accident. The scrum-half revealed afterwards that he has been practising in training for that exact moment, given that a quirk in the current goal-line dropout law trial is that the receiving side, should the kicking team opt to kick long down the field, have a ton of time and space to line a drop goal up.

“It depends on the game – we were in that period where it was a bit of a freebie, we’re drawing the game, and we get the ball back [if it misses] from a 22 dropout. I had enough time and backed my skill,” Robson explained.

Rugby’s often a copycat industry with teams spotting something in other matches and then adding it into their own game. In Robson’s case, he took note of George Ford’s effort against Northampton earlier in the season.

“[Lee Blackett, the Wasps head coach] won’t have a go at me now if I’m messing around doing drop goals! You never know, I always practice. 

“Especially with these goal-line dropouts now, I have seen George [Ford] do it a few times for Leicester. The opportunity is there. I back myself and my ability and luckily it paid off.”