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Carter drop-kicks drop goal critics

Tuesday 15th July 2008

Cut down to size: Carter gets paid some special attention by Bok lock Victor Matfield

All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter will not be putting any extra emphasis on practicing his drop-goal kicking after his side's 28-30 loss to South Africa over the weekend.

With the clock winding down and the All Blacks facing their first home defeat in 30 previous outings, two attempts by Carter in the last few minutes failed - the first as the ball flew wide of the Carisbrook posts and the second charged down by Francois Steyn in the game's final act.

New Zealand conceded their 87-year unbeaten run against the Springboks at the Dunedin ground in what was an extremely competitive Tri-Nations contest.

Carter, who had earlier landed a drop when turning like a corkscrew and putting the ball between the posts, said that despite the lessons of the World Cup quarter-final in Cardiff last year, he will keep practicing as is.

"I have four kicking sessions a week and in those I am practicing my drop-goal plays - no more, no less than previous years," Carter told Sportal.

"It was one of those games that could have gone either way at the end.

"I thought we had set ourselves up pretty well but a bit of individual brilliance there right at the end they managed to score a try when it counted.

"We were trying to set up a play where we hit around the back of a line-out and keep trying to progress closer to the posts," he added, in describing the seeming pre-occupation of the All Blacks forwards in driving ahead instead of building towards a better position for Carter.

The All Blacks pivot, who kicked 23 points in the Test, praised South Africa's defensive play, especially the side's ability at closing down space.

The Springboks conceded just two tries to the All Blacks over 160 minutes of Test rugby despite the hosts dominating possession and territory - a phenomenal effort by any standards.

"They are an extremely strong defensive side and they really do cut down your space and time and that is always tough to crack," he said

"They read plays well so they can adjust, they can shut down space when it is needed but hold and slide at other times. So that is another adjustment for us to look at for next time.

"We'll learn a lot and bounce back from this.

"I thought the way we played in the second half was real credit to a lot of new young faces out there so that was pleasing but when we did get a slight advantage or ahead of them they would bounce back and they got one back on us so that is something we will have to learn and be better."

The Springbok response from the first Test loss in Wellington was exactly what was expected and they had lifted to another level in Dunedin.

"Winning is probably more enjoyable than going down but it was a really tough Test match and that is what you love about Test match rugby, the real intensity and the tough, physical, close encounters," said Carter.

"So in terms of that it was good but you are still wanting to win at the end of 80 minutes."

Carter said that while there was not the inflammatory off-the-ball play of the first Test there were still a few incidents that went unpunished.

The Crusaders star lamented the fact that he was never allowed to influence general play, thanks in large part to the special attention he was being paid.

"It is frustrating when you're looking to support after a pass and get knocked over. It's real frustrating when that happens, and it happened a few times again [at Carisbrook]," he said.

"But that's just the way they play. They really concentrate on intimidating you physically. That's always been part of their game, more so than other teams."