Australia Wallabies Rugby: Reviewing the Robbie Deans Era

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 10, 2013

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It has perhaps been inevitable since his failure at Rugby World Cup 2011, but it was finally announced earlier this week that the Robbie Deans era as head coach of the Wallabies is over. He will be replaced by Ewen McKenzie, who will take over the team for the upcoming Rugby Championship.

His reign as coach was certainly filled with controversy from both his adopted nation Australia, as well as his home country New Zealand. Ultimately he will be remembered as a failed coach, winning just one Tri-Nations in his six years in charge and failing to win either of the World Cup or the Lions test series.

It also included embarrassing losses to Scotland and Samoa, a failed Grand Slam attempt and an abysmal three wins in 18 games against the All Blacks which saw him fail to recapture the Bledisloe Cup.

His record is not compelling. But it is not quite as simple as that. 

It is key to remember what the state of Australian rugby was when Deans inherited it. After an earlier than expected exit from the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Deans was announced as the new Wallaby coach after being unwanted by his native All Blacks. The move was one that sparked controversy and produced a significant amount of divided opinion in New Zealand, many proclaiming themselves loyal to Deans wherever he went. 

At this time, Deans was something of a super-coach, having won five Super Rugby championships and making another two finals with the Crusaders between 2000 and 2008. Many tipped him to be the one to rebuild Australian rugby for the next World Cup after losing several key players at the conclusion of the 2007 World Cup.

This presented Deans with a true challenge. At the Crusaders he had the best talent in Super Rugby and it was just a case of using it correctly to win all of those championships. With the Wallabies he was faced with the task of developing raw talent and doing a lot with not as much. In a sense, this was going...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

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