England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson is dunking rugby balls in buckets of water as part of his training for Saturday’s clash with Scotland, for which wet conditions are forecast.
The World Cup veteran, whose kicking game has been troubled by the competition’s new Gilbert balls, revealed the technique in London’s Evening Standard newspaper.
“We are training for the conditions by using buckets to wet the ball and there is a difference when kicking in the rain,” Wilkinson said.
“The surface of the ball is wet along with your boot and so you need to make allowances for that and ensure you impact into the ball rather than glide up it.
“You have to be aggressive as you strike the ball because your foot could move around it.”
News of the training technique comes amid warnings of torrential rain for Saturday’s match at Eden Park, and follows the suspension of two English coaches for illegally swapping match balls during the team’s 67-3 win in Dunedin against Romania.
Kicking coach Dave Alred and strength and conditioning staffer Paul Stridgeon have been barred from Saturday’s match in Auckland in punishment for their actions in helping Wilkinson’s kicking performance against Romania.
They admitted to giving him selected balls, rather than the ball used to score the try, which is against rugby rules.
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