Pool B latest – Wilko unfazed by kicking woes
10 Sep 2011
Keo.co.za brings you the latest news from Pool B.
Wilko unfazed by kicking woes - Jonny Wilkinson says he won’t let a dreadful kicking performance against Argentina rattle his confidence.
Wilkinson, renowned as one of the game’s best marksman, kicked just two from seven in the 13-9 victory, but said: ‘You concentrate on what you control and for me that’s kicking the ball. Today it felt good, felt right but it wasn’t going over. I’m a bit better with my back to the wall. You can’t let these things faze you.’
England coach Martin Johnson lauded Wilkinson’s persistence. ‘I told him ‘well done’ because he kept taking his shots. He kept going and eventually got us ahead and got the one that got us the four-point margin. He said he hit one badly but thought he hit the rest pretty well,’ he said.
In his assessment of the England performance Johnson said: ‘In ’07 France (who lost to Argentina in the opening RWC 2007 match) would have bitten your arm off to win that game and it was the same for us today.
‘In the circumstances, that was a good win, a fantastic win because we were six points down. It was stop-start and we were giving penalties away. It was a tough game. It’s blindingly obvious that we could have lost today. But we didn’t, we won.’
Pumas sweat on Contepomi - Argentina captain Felipe Contepomi is in danger of missing at least the pool stage with a rib injury.
The flyhalf was inspirational in their match against England on Saturday before being forced off in what appeared to be considerable pain. ‘We have to go to hospital to get an X-ray and it could be cartilage or it could be a rib,’ he said.
Initial reports are that he will certainly miss Argentina’s next clash against Romania. The Pumas will hope he recovers to face Scotland in what is likely to be the match that decides who progresses from the pool along with England.
Meanwhile, outside centre Gonzalo Tiesi’s tournament is in jeopardy. The outside centre has gone for scans on what is suspected to a sprained medial ligament in the knee.
In assessing the performance, coach Santiago Phelan said: ‘Obviously it was not the score we wanted but we had good tactical planning. Sometimes the score doesn’t go your way. It’s the small details that don’t allow you to win.
‘Probably Argentina, whenever in position to score points, were afraid to do so. Basically the team did what we were planning. We wanted strong defence, which is what happened. We didn’t get the score we wanted.’
4 Comments
10 Sep 2011, 23:00 pm
Surprisingly bad day at the kicking office for Jonny, while Pumas, for some reason, can’t kick for sh*t 2nd game in a row. Patterson will boot them out of the comp, if Pumas do not score tries.
10 Sep 2011, 23:18 pm
England Argentina game showed once more how important it is to have a decent kicker. Can’t believe Wilko unfazed – completely enclosed stadium and he still peppered the stands from all corners – it was as is there was a ball repulsion current running between the posts.
11 Sep 2011, 03:08 am
Bruising game, Lawes is a psycho lol
11 Sep 2011, 04:07 am
Aaaaand… the importance of Morne Steyn shows.
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