Wayward Mike Delany has Dave Walder’s confidence
Delany has missed nine of his 23 kicks – the 61 per cent success rate well below his normal figures.
Walder, below, told The Rugby Paper: “I don’t think there is anything technically wrong, just one or two slight issues which we are trying to iron out.
“You only have to look at his career stats so see he is mid-80s. It’s something he is aware of and working hard to replicate.”
The one-cap All Black actually topped the Premiership kicking charts with nine from 10 at the start of last season but a serious injury ruled him out for three-and-a-half months and the 34-year-old from Rotorua has struggled to rediscover that form ever since.
“Confidence plays a big part when you’re a kicker. Sometimes when you stand in front of the posts, they feel two metres wide, and I think his injury, especially as it was his kicking leg, has affected his confidence a little bit,” said Walder.
“Everyone knows you need your goal kicker to be knocking points over to win games.”
Walder played down the chances of Juan Pablo Socino taking on the responsibility. Like Delany, Socino arrived on Tyneside with a fabulous goal-kicking reputation but his stock has since fallen.
“With Juan we have made a conscious decision to focus on other areas of his game. It is great to have him as a back-up but I think the only kick he took last year was against London Irish.”
Despite the missed kicks and a misfiring attack which has yielded just eight tries – the lowest return of any of their rivals – Newcastle find themselves sitting in sixth place in the Premiership table after three wins. Last season it took them until January to register their first victory.
The ex-England fly-half says a good pre-season has been a telling factor in the transformation.
“We went away to a rugby camp at Bishop Burton College in Beverley and everyone agrees it was one of the best pre-seasons we’ve had for years. Whereas last season’s pre-season was awful because of players being away at the World Cup, injuries and the fixtures we had.
“Getting our first opening day win for nine years meant the lads could see their hard work paying off and it helped to breed confidence.
“The frustrating thing is that we’ve been in a position to win five of the first six games and only won three of them.”
Newcastle had plenty of ball in the narrow losses to Leicester and Worcester yet they only managed 22 points across both games.
Walder admits Newcastle’s poor attacking form is a source of much frustration.
“We haven’t been attacking efficiently and haven’t used our shape particularly well, and at the same time we have had a lot of possession but haven’t been in the right areas to hurt teams.
“I love to see tries being scored more than anyone, I find it boring when you lose 11-9.”
JON NEWCOMBE
