Guru to get Reds on target

Missed conversions costly

RUGBY UNION: English kicking guru Dave Alred must work a miracle in a week to rescue the Queensland Reds from their embarrassment as the worst kicking team in Super Rugby.

The kicking coach’s return to Ballymore could not be better timed after a month away working with golfers like Italy’s 2018 British Open champion Francesco Molinari.

Playing the Pretoria-based Bulls at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night is the start of a make-or-break block of six matches which can repair the Reds’ 1-5 start.

The Reds play four of those games at home and meet four teams lower on the table who are limping with problem areas of their own.

“It’s time to re-set. We have a lot to play for with plenty of Australian Conference games (four) in this middle part of the season,” Reds coach Brad Thorn said.

Thorn processed the cost of zero-from-four goalkicking in Christchurch on Friday night when all the quality in four tries was wasted.

“We knock over our conversions and it’s a different result which is the big frustration,” he said.

Alred’s principles were in part refined by guiding Eng

land’s 2003 World Cup-winner Jonny Wilkinson to superboot status. He has a far harder task at the Reds where the kickers are performing like they were picked up on special from the bottom shelf at Kmart.

Alred has been on board as the Reds’ kicking coach for more than a year on a part-time basis so the inconsistencies are already his responsibility.

Thorn has to accept he blundered too.

Handing the goalkicking to fullback Jock Campbell, a parttimer at club level, failed.

No reliable goalkicker seemed to weigh on skipper Liam Wright’s mind too when he passed up two shots at penalty goal.

The Reds’ poor kicking deserves extra attention because Harry Wilson, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Henry Speight, Taniela Tupou and Liam Wright had standout games in Super Rugby’s toughest cauldron and deserved far better than a 24-20 loss.