A look back on the five seasons under Robbie Deans

2012

This year’s Test season started in atrocious conditions in Newcastle with a mid-week game against Scotland that saw them continue their domination over us by winning 9-6.

That game was quickly forgotten and the Wallabies took on Wales in a three-match series. The Wallabies won the series 3-0, although the greatest margin of victory was just eight points with two matches decided by two and one points, with the boots of Berrick Barnes and Mike Harris proving vital.

With Quade Cooper sidelined, Berrick Barnes took over at fly-half for the first five games of the season, although he nearly didn’t make the Wales match in Melbourne after the birth of his child.

The newly formed Rugby Championship got under way against the All Blacks but they proved too much for the Wallabies in a 27-19 victory, with David Pocock joining an extensive injury list that became known as Team Rehab. Quade Cooper made his return the following week in Auckland but it counted for little as New Zealand served us a donut at Eden Park.

The next matches against South Africa and comp newcomers Argentina could have easily been losses with the Wallabies snatching victory from the jaws of defeat 26-19 in Perth and 23-19 on the Gold Coast. Team Rehab claimed another member with Will Genia injuring his knee in Perth. Nick Phipps claimed a starting spot in a case of last man standing.

The next two matches were away against South Africa and Argentina respectively, with Cooper the next to join Team Rehab. The Springboks outplayed the Wallabies in Pretoria 31-8, where Kurtley Beale had got the nod at fly-half with Barnes moving to fullback — but he also joined Team Rehab with a punctured lung.

The next match in Rosario will be remembered for Mike Harris’s laser-accurate goal kicking and a rare first-phase try (to Digby Ioane) in a 25-19 win.

Another match against New Zealand took place in Brisbane and despite no tries being scored, the Wallabies played one of their best games of the year in an 18-18 draw. The result could have gone either way at the death.

The end-of-year tour got off to a disastrous start with a disappointing 33-6 loss to France in Paris, but things got back on track at Twickenham with Nick Cummins showing the world how badass he really is with a great try in a comprehensive 20-14 win over the Poms. He continued that great form in Florence with another piece of meat in the win against the Azzurri, though the Wallabies were extremely lucky not to draw or even lose the match.

To finish off the year, the Wallabies played Wales for the sixth time in two seasons and it took until the last 90 seconds for the Wallabies to snatch the win with a Kurtley Beale try in Nathan Sharpe’s final-final Test.

2012’s record ended at nine wins, five losses and a draw, although this result could have been very different if not for the kicking displays from Berrick Barnes and Mike Harris, or the lack of same from Italy and England and Dan Carter’s missed drop goal attempt in Brisbane. The late Kurtley Beale try in Cardiff could have been enough to save Robbie Deans’s job for 2013 as the tour slate finished at 3-1, equal with the All Blacks’ performance.

The attacking stats in 2012 were most concerning. In 15 Tests just 15 tries were scored with four tryless games throughout the year — against Scotland, France and New Zealand twice. 259 points were scored at an average of 17.27 with 52 penalty goals scored as part of that total (up from 21 in 2011).

SELECTIONS

In the five seasons under Deans, there have have been a total of 79 players named to sing the anthem — however, not all of those 79 have taken to the field.

From looking over the team sheets of the past five seasons it’s evident that there have been some Deans favourites and in contrast, some experiments that haven’t gone to plan.

The best way to illustrate this is to show the names of players who have made the starting XV and in what position over the past five seasons. Some you may know well, others not so well.

One hopes that in 2013 the injury curse of 2012 has been banished and that the Wallabies can get their strongest team on the park to take on the British and Irish Lions. Players to come back include James Horwill, Will Genia, David Pocock and James O’Connor, and the thought of having those players back on the park should be enough to get all of us excited for 2013.
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