Wallabies hedge bets with goalkickers

Wallabies great John Eales has questioned Robbie Deans' left-field solution to
Australia's goalkicking issues by splitting the duties between Matt Giteau and Quade
Cooper.
In a break from tradition, the Wallabies have promoted
right-footer Cooper to share the key role against Ireland at Suncorp Stadium
following a kick-off after training on Friday.
The move comes after Giteau endured a miserable night with the boot in last
weekend's 21-20 upset second Test loss to England in Sydney.
Cooper will now take attempts from the left-side of the field, Giteau line up those
from the right and the pair will work out those from in front on the night.
The tactic has drawn reservations from former Wallabies skipper and goalkicker Eales
who was worried such switching may affect the focus of both kickers.
"I think if you are kicking you would want to be kicking everything," Eales told AAP.
"I think it just puts you in that very clear mindset about what you are doing."
While he is generally a fine kicker, Giteau has shown to have a weakness kicking on
the left side when he's under pressure.
The left-footer was the most accurate kicker during this year's Super 14 with an 83
per cent success rate but he slotted just four from eight at ANZ Stadium, including
two missed penalties in the last 15 minutes.
Giteau's 71st-minute shocker from in front would have put his team ahead.
Coach Robbie Deans also this week drew some attention to Giteau's unsuccessful
conversion attempt on his bad side against Scotland at Murrayfield last November,
the last act in the shock 9-8 loss.
In contrast, rising five-eighth Cooper's goalkicking strength is his ability to nail
virtually all his kicks from the left side, thanks largely to a wicked draw which he
controls superbly.
Deans was impressed by the 22-year-old's composure under pressure to twice kick
Queensland into the lead in the last 10 minutes for a final-round Super 14 victory
against the Highlanders last month.
Both came from wide out near the left sideline at Suncorp Stadium where he again
drilled all his attempts at the end of training on Friday.
In a three-way goalkicking duel also including fullback James O'Connor, Giteau
hardly even took a kick from the left side but was accurate from the right.
Deans was confident his kickers would best sort out who took the kicks from in front
and felt the importance of the role would ensure their focus.
"In the game we leave that to the kickers involved because they know better than
anyone," he told AAP.
"It's for them to manage."
It's extremely rare to see a team anoint two kickers but Australia did adopt such a
tactic in the third Test of the 1984 Bledisloe Cup at the SCG when Mark Ella kicked
six from seven and David Campese one from two on the left side.
While fullback Roger Gould also missed two long-range attempts that day, his
opposite number, none other than Deans himself, kicked the All Blacks to a 25-24 win
with six from seven.
Ireland will have their own minor kicking concerns with new five-eighth Jonathan
Sexton, chosen ahead of veteran Ronan O'Gara to promote a more attacking
ball-in-hand game, able to run hot or cold in front of the posts.
Ireland haven't beaten the Wallabies on Australian soil since 1979 but are eyeing a
prime chance against the injury-hit hosts, who are missing eight first-choice
players.



Delete & Prev | Delete & Next