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Ireland Test kicks off a day early for Giteau, Cooper and O'Connor
GREG GROWDEN
June 25, 2010
Under pressure ... Matt Giteau Photo: Gary Schafer
A ''KICK-OFF'' at today's captain's run will determine whether Matt Giteau holds on to the Wallabies goalkicking job or shares it with Quade Cooper and James O'Connor during tomorrow night's Test against Ireland in Brisbane.
A poor kicking display by Giteau in last Saturday night's Test against England at ANZ Stadium - where he missed four shots from eight including a sitter straight in front that would have given the Wallabies the lead in the 70th minute - has prompted a rethink by team officials.
This follows Giteau's failure with a similarly simple kick against Scotland at Murrayfield last November - a conversion that would have averted Australia's most embarrassing Test loss since being beaten by Tonga at Ballymore in 1973.
Although Wallabies coach Robbie Deans stated the day after the England loss that Giteau remained the team's No.1 goalkicker, it appears the duties may be shared, and that could depend on where the goalkick is taken on the field. As the team left for Brisbane last Sunday, Deans could not hide his surprise that Giteau, normally a reliable goalkicker, had missed such an easy shot.
Just before taking the Sydney kick, Giteau was hit heavily in a tackle and appeared to hobble towards the spot. However, he later refused to use that as an excuse for the miscued shot that passed to the left of the uprights. At the media conference following the 21-20 loss, Giteau said: ''It wasn't my proudest moment. But these things happen, and you have to move forward. No excuses.''
Apart from the occasional one in front going wide, it appears there are concerns over Giteau's ability to kick goals from the left side of the field, and those shots may be taken by Cooper, who has a natural right-to-left arc to his goalkicks, making them easier for him to negotiate.
It is understood Giteau was alerted earlier in the week that the duties might be shared, and it is expected to end up being decided by a kick-off at Suncorp Stadium at the end of today's captain's run.
Giteau certainly put his mind on the goalkicking task at the Wallabies' training session at Ballymore yesterday. After the team had been involved in an opposed session, he spent more than 20 minutes practising his shots from all parts of the field. With Deans acting as ball retriever, Giteau was successful with more than 90 per cent of his shots.
The only other player to practise his goalkicking was reserve back Berrick Barnes.
The subject of goalkicking bobbed up during yesterday's scheduled media conference when Deans was asked if he could pinpoint why, on the International Rugby Board rankings, Australia this week had dropped from third to fourth, and why it had been so long since the Wallabies had won a trophy of substance.
''How long have you got?'' Deans replied. ''There are an awful lot of contributing factors. Essentially, in terms of the rankings, we've coughed up a couple of games we shouldn't have, and that's hurt us. Look at Scotland last year, and last weekend - a couple of kicks had gone over and they would have been different results. ''There's Ireland at Croke Park with a last-minute try. If we had turned those around, we could have been in a situation of going for eight wins in succession.
''Getting up and winning the games that are there to be won is the knack we have to master. And the reality is that we are third ranked to date within the Tri Nations. That won't be straightforward to turn around, but it can be done. Ultimately you get what you deserve.''
The Wallabies' injury toll continued to climb yesterday, with their most experienced forward, Nathan Sharpe, forced out because of a back spasm. He has been replaced by second-rower Mark Chisholm. Deans made it blatantly clear it was time for Chisholm to step up.
''He became a 50-Test capped player last week, and the conversation we had was essentially along the lines of: 'Your apprenticeship is over - it's time to start getting a return','' Deans said.
THE TEAMS
AUSTRALIA: James O'Connor, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Rob Horne, Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell, Quade Cooper, Luke Burgess; Richard Brown, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom (c), Nathan Sharpe, Dean Mumm, Salesi Ma'afu, Saia Faingaa, Ben Daley.
Reserves: Huia Edmonds, James Slipper, Mark Chisholm, Matt Hodgson, Josh Valentine, Berrick Barnes, Kurtley Beale.
IRELAND: Robert Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Brian O'Driscoll (c), Paddy Wallace, Andrew Trimble, Jonathan Sexton, Tomas O'Leary; Chris Henry, Shane Jennings, Niall Ronan, Mick O'Driscoll, Donncha O'Callaghan, Tony Buckley, Sean Cronin, Cian Healy.
Reserves: Damien Varley, Tom Court, Dan Tuohy, Rhys Ruddock, Eoin Reddan, Ronan O'Gara, Geordan Murphy.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...0624-z3lh.html
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