O’Connor won’t fix wonky Wallabies kicking

RUGBY UNION:

James O’Connor doesn’t see himself as the solution to Australia’s inaccurate goalkicking, heading into their key Rugby World Cup clash with Wales.

A worrying trend has emerged in the Wallabies’ past three Tests and it needs to be addressed before another expected tight, tense encounter with the Welsh in Tokyo on Sunday to probably determine the winners of group D.

Australia’s 15-6 pool win over Wales at the 2015 World Cup featured five penalties from an ice-cool Bernard Foley, and the most recent Test in Cardiff last November, where the Welsh prevailed 9-6, also did not produce a try.

Australia’s recent stat sheet reads six successful shots from 15 attempts, shared between five-eighths Christian Lealiifano (one from four), Foley (2-6), winger Reece Hodge (1-2) and inside back Matt Toomua (2-3).

O’Connor was the first-choice Test goalkicker from 2009-13 before he was sacked following a series of offfield incidents.

But the reformed outside centre, surprisingly recalled this year, said on Monday: “I was a completely different person back then.” It seems that extends to goalkicking, which he hasn’t even been practising in Japan – such is the trust in the four kickers. “I can goal kick, I do have that up my sleeve, but I haven’t been able to practise much at the moment,” he said. “But in saying that, I do have confidence in our four main kickers. “They’re working they’re training hard. “I’ve got my job in the team hard, and I don’t need to stare into that.”

A 2014 study ranked O’Connor, who had the kicking responsibility at the 2011 World Cup, as the world’s best goalkicker “under pressure”.

His most famous goal was the conversion of his own try from wide out after the hooter when the Wallabies downed the All Blacks 26-24 in Hong Kong in 2010.

The other thing in the 29year-old outside centre’s favour is his probable firstchoice status while there is uncertainty over who will eventually settle at five-eighth out of Lealiifano, Foley and Toomua.

— AAP