Greg Growden in Paris Chief rugby correspondent | November 20, 2008


A CRUCIAL element in a successful Robbie Deans team is an accurate and prolific goalkicker. At the Canterbury Crusaders, Deans had Andrew Mehrtens and Daniel Carter, and now with the Wallabies he has Matt Giteau.

The Australian five-eighth's accuracy has been a major reason why Australia have scored eight wins from 12 this season.

In the chaos of a long Test year, Giteau's exceptional goalkicking has been overlooked. Following his near flawless effort against England, where he booted seven from eight, he has an 85 per cent success rate - kicking 50 of his 59 shots at goal.

His tally includes four Tests in which he successfully converted every attempt, while he has missed more than one of his shots at goal only once - against South Africa in Perth.

Giteau's goalkicking has ensured the Wallabies have not wasted many penalty goal opportunities. Against England at Twickenham on Saturday this enabled the tourists to control the early rhythm of the game when all their first-half points came from Giteau goalkicks.

In the past few seasons, Giteau has developed a relaxed, rhythmic kicking approach, while his focus has enabled him to block out distractions while lining up shots at goal.

That trait was shown when Giteau was told at the Wallabies' training yesterday that an official apology from English rugby authorities had been sent to the Australian high commissioner in London for the excessive booing by the Twickenham crowd whenever he took a shot at goal.

Giteau asked if that was a joke, and then added that he didn't notice the crowd noise. It was because he was in the zone.

"That reaction is pretty common," Giteau said.

"When you play at most stadiums, the opposition generally gets booed. It wasn't something I took personally. And I didn't really notice. When you are kicking you try to ignore a lot of things, and I suppose it just gives you more satisfaction when you kick the goals."

Giteau said the art of good goalkicking revolved around, in the words of former Wallabies kicking coach Ben Perkins - rhythm and authority.

"They are the two things Ben taught me," Giteau said. "And things haven't changed that much. Kicking can get complicated at times, but it doesn't need to be.

"It also revolves around trusting your run-up. If you do miss a kick, it is very easy to fall into the trap of trying to change something straight away. But this year, I've focused on doing the same things with each kick, and so far that has worked for me.


"I feel like I am striking the ball better, and far more consistently. There has been times in the past where I've kicked well one week, and not the next. But this season in particular I have been pleased with how consistent I have been."

Deans keeps a close eye on Giteau's technique, as he did with Mehrtens' and Carter's, often acting as ball retriever when the Wallaby playmaker is practising. But Deans said that most of the time he leaves Giteau alone.

"He's done the work," Deans said. "He's mastered it. Occasionally, I throw in my five cents' worth, but at the end of the day, he's the one who does it, and to be fair, he's just got to that point of maturity. Everyone is different, and he has found a way which works for him … most importantly, what's working now is that he is letting go of his anxieties.

"He is not so intimidated about the prospect of missing a shot. He is concentrating more on the prospect of succeeding. Goalkicking is a mind game."

Has Giteau mastered his mind? "Yes, I think he has."
JUST FOR KICKS


Matt Giteau in 2008: 50 goals from 59 attempts
6 from 7 (France, Sydney)
8 from 8 (France, Brisbane)
1 from 3 (South Africa, Perth)
5 from 5 (NZ, Sydney)
2 from 2 (NZ, Auckland)
5 from 6 (Sth Africa, Durban)
1 from 2 (Sth Africa, Johannesburg)
4 from 5 (NZ, Brisbane)
2 from 3 (NZ, Hong Kong)
6 from 6 (Italy, Padova)
7 from 8 (England, London)
3 from 4 (Ireland, Melbourne)



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