Wilkinson says he's to blame for kicking woes
England great Jonny Wilkinson said he alone, and not the indoor
conditions at the Otago Stadium, was behind his astonishing off-day with
the boot against Argentina.
England won their opening World Cup match 13-9 after replacement
scrum-half Ben Youngs turned a six-point deficit into a one-point lead
with the only try of the match, a score under the posts that Wilkinson
converted, 13 minutes from time here on Saturday.
But Wilkinson, one of the greatest goalkickers rugby union has known
and the most successful scorer in World Cup history with 257 points,
missed five out of eight shots at the posts, including a first-half
penalty from inside the Pumas' 22.
Fortunately for England, Argentina too had a horror show with the
boot, squandering a possible 18 points.
Full-back Martin Rodriguez, who shouldered the bulk of placekicking
duties after Felipe Contepomi suffered an injury that forced the
fly-half off the field in the 26th minute, was off-target with five of
his seven goalkicks.
Wilkinson had spoken earlier in the week about the potential
difficulties of kicking in an indoor venue - the Otago Stadium boasts a
permanent roof - and with a relatively new type of ball. But after
Saturday's match Wilkinson, whose drop-goal won England the 2003 World
Cup, said: "I'm not going to apportion any kind of blame than other to
myself. I'm the one kicking the ball.
"It was the same for both sides. It was tough kicking out there. To
get through to the end, you just had to keep taking your shots."
Wilkinson, 32, added: "In kicking, you're judged on the outcome.
But as kickers, you focus on what you're doing with the ball, that's
what you focus on because at the end of the day, with all these
variables, you have to focus on the bit you can control and today I felt
really good.
"I don't even know how many I missed," said Wilkinson, who admitted
he was torn at times between whether to kick for position or go for the
posts.
"It was a difficult decision-making process because what you don't
want to do is hinder your chances to try and win the game.
"You have to weigh up the pros and cons of the situation. As a kicker
you dont ever look and say 'I can't kick this'. "I felt really good out
there. The last thing you can say is 'what's happening?' "You've got to
look forward to the next one and say 'I'll get the next one', and that's
what happened at the end."
AFP |