Robbie Deans says South Africa possesses more rugby talent than anywhere in the world, adding ?it's frightening, the potential if it can be harnessed.''
The former All Black who on Saturday will have a chance to make history when he leads the Wallabies into battle against the Springboks at their recently re-named rugby fortress, Coca-Cola Park, has revealed his admiration for South African rugby and his special bond with the country.
In an interview with David Beniuk of AAP (Australian Associated Press) the man who played for the All Blacks, did duty as their assistant coach and turned the Crusaders into the most successful SuperRugby team before accepting the job to coach the Wallabies spoke of the motivating role South Africa?s rugby status played in his career.
Deans first visited South Africa as a member of Andy Dalton?s ?rebel? NZ Cavaliers in 1986 and says he fell in love with the diversity of the country while being stimulated by its passion for rugby.
?It's the vastness of the country but within that the contrast as well,? Deans told AAP. ?There's so much that makes it a special place and a unique place.
?Just the wildlife and you look at the difference but also the appeal of places like Cape Town with Table Mountain and Durban with the ocean and the climate.
?And then you've got the intrigue of the highveld and the impact that that has on the game, it's unique within the game.?
Deans revealed how battles between the All Blacks and the Springboks first stirred his interest in rugby as he listened to crackling radio commentaries home on the farm in New Zealand?s south island.
?It probably started as a kid to be honest, just listening to the radio in the middle of the night, listening to test series,? he recalled. ?So that's where the intrigue started in obviously the degree of difficulty that teams had playing over here and the folklore that came out of that.?
The ache to test himself as a player behind rugby's version of the Berlin Wall would prove too much to resist for Deans, but it would be far from straightforward. ?It was something that I'd always aspired to,? Deans says of his decision to join the Cavaliers.
?I hadn't had the opportunity and I didn't think I was going to get the opportunity. (Then) we were presented with an opportunity. Even when we got halfway here I still didn't think it was going to happen.?
Most of the All Blacks joined Deans on the Cavaliers tour in 1986, and were banned for two official tests on their return. He would not play for his country again.
Were there any reservations he was asked by AAP?
?Obviously,'' he replied. ?Whether I'd do it again or not, I don't know that I would with the benefit of hindsight and if the circumstance was similar.?
The Cavaliers played four "tests" wearing a black jersey with gold collar and stripes down the sleeves (reflecting the colours of their sponsor, Yellow Pages, and kit supplier Adidas) and an emblem combining the silver fern and Springbok.
Up against an exceptional Springbok team they lost the series 3-1 and Deans still has vivid memories of his first visit to these shores.
?Prior to the fourth test we were in the shed about to run out and I just caught a glimpse of myself in my kit in the mirror,? Deans said. ?I thought, well, it's just not the same because it wasn't the nation's strip. And by that point we were conscious of the fact we didn't have full support domestically. To that end, it was never going to be the same.?
It would be ten years before he returned, but that turbulent first visit had sparked something. ?From a rugby perspective it fulfilled the expectation that I had around the venues,? Deans recalled. ?All the stadiums that we currently play in were built in the 70s and they're unbelievable state of the art stadiums ... when you think about it, that's remarkable because they are still some of the best stadiums in the world.
?And then you put in those stadiums a rugby population that's so passionate and proud of their past, then you've got some of the best atmospheres you'll ever get to play the game in. Obviously the mix in the game has evolved which is good, that's for the better, and I think with exposure to the world some of the outlooks of the traditional rugby people have broadened as well.?
By 1996, when Deans first went back, South Africa was a different country. Nelson Mandela was the president and, in a massive gesture of reconciliation, had donned the Springboks jersey so despised by blacks as South Africa won the 1995 Rugby World Cup on home soil.
Deans has visited every year since, as Crusaders coach from 1997 and All Blacks assistant between 2001-03.
?There's been an obvious transformation in the game as there has been in the society and that was always going to be one of the intriguing things,'' he says. ?There's more talent here (in South Africa) than anywhere in the world.?
?The wildlife is obvious because it's the only place that I've known in the world that I can come and see the big five and to see them in real life is something pretty special and you never get sick of that,? he said. ?Robben Island, what an incredible experience that was, you can only do that here.
?But it's the history of the place from a rugby perspective and obviously there's a lot of interest as well in the nation in terms of how they've dealt with some of the challenges and how they're going. We've been lucky enough to have seen the evolution from '96 forward and there's been a massive transformation.?
?There's been an obvious transformation in the game as there has been in the society and that was always going to be one of the intriguing things,? he says. ?There's more talent here than anywhere in the world. It's frightening, the potential if it can be harnessed.'?
Last Saturday, Deans, who younger brother, Bruce, also played for the All Blacks, led Australia to their first victory in South Africa since 2000 and on Saturday he will be goading his new team to register their first win at Ellis Park as well as their first back-to-back wins on South African soil since since 1963.
His great uncle was Bob Deans, who has become one of New Zealand rugby's most legendary figures because it was he who scored the disallowed try against Wales in what turned out to be the only loss by the 1905 "Original" All Blacks, on their tour of Britain.
