Wallabies to pressure AB's kickers

Jamie Pandaram

THE Wallabies will attack the All Blacks' kickers following the injury-forced withdrawal of linchpin Dan Carter, knowing the Kiwis now have no left-foot options.

Carter’s calf injury, which will see him sidelined for a month, means right-footed Aaron Cruden will wear the No.10 jersey on Saturday night at ANZ Stadium, joining a backline of right-footed players.

One of the All Blacks’ great strengths in previous Bledisloe Cup encounters has been their ability to keep the Wallabies pinned in their own end through the dual option of either Carter or fullback Israel Dagg stationed either side of the field, creating uncertainty among the back three.

Wallabies centre Adam Ashley-Cooper said without Carter, the All Blacks would be lesser equipped with the boot.

"More than anything I think with DC it takes out their left foot, I don’t think they’ve got a left foot option now," Ashley-Cooper said.

"That’s probably a little bit of an advantage for us defensively.

"They’ve got a few great kickers in the game, they’ll probably use Israel Dagg from the back a fair bit off set-piece, [halfback Aaron] Smith off the base, and then you’ve also got Cruden there, so they can mix it up a bit.

"But the benefit of having DC out is knowing they don’t have a left-foot option.

"We’ll have a close look at that later in the week."

Most clearing kicks from the Kiwis will be directed towards left winger James O’Connor and fullback Jesse Mogg - the Wallabies’ left-footed kicker who has a giant punt.

This knowledge allows the Wallabies to structure their defence and counter-attack accordingly, given it is high-risk for right-footed kickers to boot the ball across their natural side in the pressured atmosphere of a Test match.

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