Laban, 2 days ago :
My worry is the kicking. We have no Jenkins or Thorburn, Parks or Paterson - Leigh Halfpenny's the nearest we've got and I wish he'd take more kicks. When Wales beat France in the U20 quarter finals two years ago his kicking was excellent.
Say what you like about Henson - arrogant and unpleasant is what I say - he seems nerveless when faced with a pressure kick.
Poor Hook. Like Gavin Hastings, those kicks will hang round the neck like the proverbial albatross. And Hastings only missed one ! It must feel even worse when you know that the rest of your colleagues stepped up to the plate magnificently after the sending off. Mind, Phillips could have tried to get under the posts a bit more - shades of Martyn Williams against Fiji four years back. Why didn't he devote a bit of energy to getting a yard further in, instead of waving in celebration? He knew what our kicking was like!
A great shame, especially as Wales are probably one of the top two teams of the tournament. For a team that would have graced the final to miss out like that is a real pity. But they had it in their own hands to win - even with 14 men.
Good luck to the French - they'll need it. I bet the Aussies and All Blacks are breathing a sigh of relief - and rubbing their hands.
2 comments:
When Alain Rolland heard the Welsh singing land of my fathers, he took it too literally.
Hastings also missed a kick in the 1987 draw against France, if it had gone over Scotland could well have got to the semi final or even the final as they would have avoided the All Blacks in the quarters.
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