Hi! I also play rugby, and my best kick (place kick) is around 45m on the angle. To kick the ball hard, the key is the amount of speed which your foot connects with the ball at. It helps if you are tall, as it allows a longer swing time, and therefore more momentum, but height isn't the key. It's also good to have strong quads, as these will produce more force. The sweet spot on the ball is about a third of the way up the ball. To get good height, you must kick under the ball, and the angle of your foot is also important for the height. To produce a low trajectory kick, you generally straighten the angle of your ankle. For a high kick do the opposite.
Right at the back maybe a little to the bottom. The part in the back where are the seems meet is most likely your best bet you may want to get up under it to give it a little height if you want
It depends what you want to do with the ball, how you want it to fly, how you want it to land, and what you want to do with it when it does land. If I were you, I'd go to your local pitch, and just start experimenting with what you can do with the ball, it all comes with practice
In my experience the ball tastes pretty much the same no matter where you taste it
