Tuesday’s rugby news has Deans keeping the peace, White providing some mind-games, Wallaby pep-talks and Barnes keeping a stiff upper lip
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Deans side-steps cheating allegations
Robbie Deans has steered clear of cheating allegations made by former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer against the British and Irish Lions. ‘I’m not interested in discussing it,’ said Deans. ‘It’s a Test match and every side pushes the boundaries.’ A cheating advantage shouldn’t be an issue as, according to Dwyer, all Kiwi coaches are bound to play outside the laws of the game
Deans seemed to be more concerned about the minimal preparation for the Lions series. ‘We’ve just made the most of the time we’ve had,’ Deans said, while also conceding ‘There’s nothing like match preparation.’ Have the Wallabies been mismanaged by a lack of warm-up matches or were the risks of a wider injury crisis from the Super Rugby season too great? I guess we will see on Saturday
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White insists Lions could crumble
Brumbies coach Jake White has weighed in with some friendly banter seemingly designed get inside the head of opposition coach Warran Gatland. Increasing the already monumental pressure on the Lions, White said, ‘Whoever wins the first test will win the series and Lions head coach Warren Gatland knows that. If they don’t win then they will crumble.’
The World Cup-winning South African coach added that the Australians derive a massive boost from playing at Suncorp in the first test, while also criticising the Lions’ team management in light of the recent injury crisis. White is convinced that Gatland should have brought more players from the start of the trip and needed to create two distinct teams.
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Wallabies bring in coaching reinforcements
A number of Australian legends from the 1989 and 2001 series including Nick-Farr Jones, Simon Poidovin and Joe Roff have addressed the current Wallabies squad ahead of Saturday’s match against the Lions. With the Lions squad containing a few former tourists such as O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell, the Australian side was seen to have a distinct disadvantage in experience.
Deans recruited former players to give the current Wallabies a taste of what to expect in the traditionally fiery and close-fought opening encounter. ‘The Australian players were shocked at the intensity of the first Test in 2001 and how well drilled the Lions were,’ said Berrick Barnes.
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Barnes content as super-sub
Berrick Barnes says while he sees Saturday’s opening Lions match as the biggest rugby game since the 2011 World Cup final, he will be happy to watch kick-off from the Suncorp Stadium bench. “Everyone likes to start, there’s obviously a lot of prestige associated with that, but I firmly believe that it doesn’t really matter…it’s a 23-man squad which will get this thing done,” Barnes said.
With underdone trio James O’Connor, Pat McCabe and Kurtley Beale all favourites to start against the Lions despite match fitness concerns, Barnes has been training at fullback, five-eighth and inside centre at Camp Wallaby. He has been largely utilised as a second-half impact player for the Waratahs this season, helping steal wins over the Stormers and Brumbies
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