Australia winger James O'Connor claims he did not feel any extra pressure before his match-winning conversion against New Zealand.
Australia hero claims winning kick "like every other"
Australia winger James O'Connor claims he did not feel any extra pressure when he stepped up to kick the match-winning conversion against New Zealand.
The Wallabies snatched a 26-24 victory at the death thanks to the 20-year-old, who converted his own try from the wide on the right after the 80 minutes had expired.
It ended a run of 10 successive defeats to the All Blacks, but O'Connor insisted that he did not let the situation get to him as he was preparing to take the kick.
"To be honest, I've tried to put myself in that situation a lot in training," he said. "(Coach) Robbie (Deans) has said plenty of times, 'This is the last kick to win the game' and I think that's the only one I've hit, so I'm pretty happy about it.
Confidence
"The team were all pumping me up, giving me the confidence. I'd done all the training I needed, I just went through my motions, my little triggers I've been working on, and it was just like every other kick.
"I blocked everything out in my head and just focused on the kick. When I looked up I was happy enough to see it go through the posts."
Australia seemed as though they would fall to yet another loss against their trans-Tasman rivals after giving up a 12-0 lead earlier in the contest, but turned the tables back in their favour in the dying stages.
Deans said: "That's the nature of rugby. What we got was a good response in the last 20 minutes, which is an area that we've been battling with and we made some progress tonight, so that was great.
"The boys persevered, there were occasions there where they could've dropped their heads but credit to Rocky and the decision makers for their relentlessness.
Response
"It was great to see the response of the team. The boys kept probing and working hard and trying to find a way in, particularly on the outside edges where the Kiwis have profited of late.
"The work rate of the backs was great, they were looking not only for a way in but they were prepared to work for it and they showed a bit of patience as well and that was the point of difference."
All Blacks coach Graham Henry was quick to praise the Wallabies' performance and stated that small errors cost his side in the end.
"The Wallabies played particularly well, that was the end of the game and they scored to win," he said.
"We've been through those situations a bit this year and finished up on the positive side of the ledger. They kept the ball and we gave away a few penalties at that time, which made it more difficult for us, and didn't finish up with a positive result because of the continuity of position.
"The Australians started very well and played some particularly good football. We had a good middle patch in the game and we didn't quite finish well enough. I think the Aussies should be applauded for playing some good football and it was a great spectacle I imagine."
