NSW Waratahs goalkicker Bernard Foley won’t be dwelling on his costly late missed penalty attempt in his side’s Super Rugby home defeat to the Hurricanes.
NSW Waratahs five-eighth Bernard Foley will back himself to make the next kick he takes that’s identical to the crucial one he missed in his side’s opening round Super Rugby home loss to the Hurricanes.
With NSW trailing 20-19 and just over a minute to go, Foley pulled the ball wide of the left upright from a position just off centre from little more than 30 metres out.
It was his sole miss in six attempts on a night when he became the franchise’s all-time leading Super Rugby pointscorer.
The Wallabies playmaker rued being unable to capitalise on the good work of the NSW scrum.
“It’s disappointing (not) to reward the front row and the scrum there at the end, they did a great job to win that penalty,” Foley said.
“But it’s process driven, we’re not driven by outcomes so it’s the same with my kicking.
“In terms of just keep trying to stick at it, get consistent, get better at it, and given that shot again, I’ll back myself.”
While disappointed by Saturday’s result, Tahs coach Daryl Gibson identified some positives in their stout defence and the efforts of debutant props Chris Talakai and Rory O’Connor.
While Talakai gave away some penalties, he was also instrumental in securing the one that gave Foley his late opportunity.
“Thrilled for the rookie front row to earn that penalty that gave us the opportunity,” Gibson said.
“I thought they came back well and those guys showing that they can do it at this level, which is a real positive.”
The Hurricanes’ dangerous backs had few attacking chances out wide as the Waratahs defended well.
“It was probably one of the positives that came out of the game, we’ve been doing a lot of work there,” Gibson said.
Both Hurricanes tries came from forwards.
“One was from a maul, one was from a pick and go,” Gibson noted.
“Overall we did an excellent job on their ruck speed, it was pretty slow for them.”
Gibson praised the defensive work of his new centre pairing of veterans Adam Ashley-Cooper and Karmichael Hunt, saying they acquitted themselves well.
Ashley-Cooper and prop Sekope Kepu picked up knocks, but Gibson confirmed playmaker Kurtley Beale would be back for next weekend’s away game against Japan’s Sunwolves after being rested from Saturday’s match.
Z UNIT
Guest
Foley cannot kick the pressure kicks in test matches. I seem to remember him missing 3 conversions and a penalty with two hitting the uprights in Dunedin Bledisloe 2, 2017 which unltimately cost the Wallabies a chance of winning the Bledisloe Cup in Brisbane. It should have been 24-14 at halftime,but was only 17/14. Final score 35-29 ABs. He left 9 points on the park in that game. He has to be replaced entirely if the Aussies have a chance of making the quarter finals.He offers absolutely nothing to the Wallabies. We have seen his pathetic play for 3 years. Enough is Enough.
Russ
Guest
Foley is known for missing the clutch kicks. He must be embarrassed being called the "Iceman" #MeltedIceman
riddler
Roar Rookie
credit to the lad for fronting the media after and taking it. best coach i ever had used to say kickers can win you the match but they won't lose you the match. we had some fine kickers who appreciated that view.
terise
Roar Rookie
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Doctordbx
Roar Rookie
Latu should never have been given a Wallabies jersey in the first place.
CUW
Roar Rookie
i think his nerves need a lift - coz i remember a simillar kick he missed a few years back at the death against crusaders. everyone knows his range - around 40m max distance , from left touchline to 15m inside the right. perhaps he could look at farell or pollard - who are very accurate kickers - and see what tehy do most of the time.
Jigbon
Guest
Tolu Latu is a complete dick. He’s a mistake magnet and should be dropped. Last night again , he was terrible. Just a goombyhead.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Which heartlands? Moore Park not one?
Hunters
Roar Rookie
Forgot to say. Assuming everyone's continued good health, I wonder if there may come a time when Izzy starts on the bench, not permanently, Kurtley at fullback and have the defensive starch of Hunt and AAC in the centres. Around half time Izzy on for one of the old(er) guys. Speed the game up when the other team is (hopefully) tiring. I wonder if Izzy would come in with even more fire. Nice to have the cattle to at least consider something like that.
Hunters
Roar Rookie
Pretty good game, given what many might have been thinking in their more pessimistic moments. Enjoyed the atmosphere on the hill. Interesting to see little comment about Folau. He had a few good moments and great to see his continued confident performance under the high ball. I'm a fan. But the coaches have not yet helped him achieve the right balance between backing himself to make things happen and knowing when to trust the team to make the next passage be the one to crack it. He's a big strong unit and he's good at laying the ball back after tackled. The heroic last pass when it's really not on sometimes costs us more in terms of momentum (and possession) than it delivers value in tries. First game so expect a few wobbles and penalties. Hope they improve there. Had a few bad memories of self destruction in the past couple of years. Up to the coaches to make sure we don't repeat that pattern.
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
Agree, Foley's kicking is the least of our concerns. My worry is the depth in the front row and tight five overall over the whole season. But not going to get up in arms yet, it's just round one. And while we should've won it was a great night at Brookie, terrific crowd and some great banter on the hill.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
He’s a decent kicker, but not fantastic. Realistically, he’s probably not going to be able to massively improve his kicking at this stage of his career. Good that he wants to work on it, but he’s pretty good. Time to move on. More should be being made of Latu’s play. That bloke started for the Wallabies a few months ago, he should be better.