Wallabies’ coach Robbie Deans under immense pressure
After facing defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals New Zealand, Wallabies’ coach Robbie Deans has found himself in the line of fire. He has been criticised for poor form of the Australian Rugby team. If Australia loses their next match against the Kiwis in New Zealand, then it will be their 8th successive loss against their Trans-Tasmania rivals.
The pressure on Deans was further intensified when ARU boss John O’Neill admitted that the ‘dogs will be barking’ if Deans fails to turnaround the dismal form of Wallabies. In the past, O’Neill was an adamant supporter of Deans and even indicated his stay at the Australian camp till the next year’s World Cup irrespective of the results.
However their recent loss to All-Blacks has even shaken the faith of ARU’s boss. Talking to an Australian Channel, John O’Neill said, “If you're coaching the national team, there's an expectation that beating the All Blacks on a regular basis is a key performance indicator. The pressure will be on. But the pressure is on all of us, the board, me, Robbie, the team. We still believe he's the right person for that job to take us through to the World Cup.” He further added, “But I think the dogs will be barking a bit and we just have to respond next Saturday. What worries us today is that we appear to be further away than what we were say a year ago. In any team sport you have to ask yourself 'do you have the cattle.”
Australia’s chances are further damaged with the untimely sending off of winger Drew Mitchell in the last match. Similarly, loss of suspended Quade Cooper has further aggravated the Wallabies’ prospects in the upcoming fixture. Mitchell was sent off after he received two successive bookings by referee Craig Joubert. The second time he was booked was his action which resulted in slowing down of the play after he knocked the ball out of the hands of his opponent player. O’Neill believes that the decision by the referee was a harsh one and it left Australian team with limited resources in that match.
Even Australian commentators were critical of Deans’ performance as coach. According to them, Wallabies’ fans were again ‘sucked in’ by the Australian camp, as they again promised much but failed to deliver anything. “It was an embarrassment quite frankly. We were sucked in again,” the commentators said. “We were told by the Wallabies it's now that we're going to string two wins together. We had a wonderful performance against the Springboks and then all of a sudden we turn around and concede seven tries.”
Meanwhile, Robbie Deans has brushed aside the criticism targeted on him by saying that his main objective is to win nothing less than the World Cup. According to him, defeats such as 49-28 hammering in Melbourne will only help his team as it will build their character. The former Canterbury fullback and legendary Crusaders’ coach said, “Regardless of the outcome at the weekend, there's no doubt that this time will serve this group well. I can tell you that in 14 months, they'll be there. Whether I'm there or not is other people's decisions, it doesn't matter. I'm tasked with getting this group into the optimum state at that point.”
According to Deans, his young side has a long way to go before they will be capable to compete against experienced sides like that of New Zealand. He said that despite the awful result of last week, his team is on right path and will be strengthened with each match.
Deans will be under immense pressure when he faces his home side in Christchurch. Graham Henry, the All-Blacks’ boss, was re-appointed in place of Deans despite fans supporting the latter. Deans’ reputation will be at stake, when he faces his old adversary for the battle of Tri-Nation. One thing that is certain is that fans of the Australian continent will be up for an explosive match.
Tags: