Deans happy with the win – sort of

Without going over the top in his praise of the Wallaby performance, Robbie Deans seemed fairly comfortable with how the Wallabies were progressing.

“The performance was solid, I guess that’s the way you’d describe it. The Italians were physical and we weren’t perfect around the contact. That’s probably not surprising given we haven’t done a lot of it but it was a really good workout and we’ll be better for that game”

“Having said that, we managed to score 5 tries so that was pleasing”

“Italy brought a fair amount of pressure to bare, there was probably one lapse where we allowed them to breach through the middle of the field and that was a bit sloppy. But outside of that their (the Wallabies) energy and concentration was pretty good.”

Deans has identified the tackle contest area as one that will come in for special attention at this week’s training as the team heads to Melbourne.

“The Italians spent a fair bit of time on the ball (slowing it down) and we weren’t always efficient at moving those bodies, so if we want to play a little bit more expansively we’ll have to recycle the ball more effectively.”

“It won’t be easy as they’ll go into the next game with the same mentality of trying to deny us that momentum, so we’ll put in a fair bit of work in that area this week”

Despite somewhat of a glass half-empty view of how the game was played around the ruck, Deans once again singled out the improvement in the kicking game and kicking options of the Wallabies as something he was more than happy with.

“You only have to ask the forwards, to see the importance of our kicking game, it’s critical. Territorially it keeps you in the right part of the ground and it builds the pressure on your opponent and doesn’t allow them to play the way they want to play.”

“It has been a good facet in the first two outings so that’s a reflection of the work that’s been done but most importantly, of the thinking that’s being done. The guys have a clearer idea in their minds of the choices that are available at any given moment”

Having now been in charge for two games under the revised set of ELV’s, Deans was positive about how the laws around the tackle contest were now being interpreted and how there was now a certain amount of consistency to what was going on.

“Having watched these two first tests, possibly for the first time in a long time I hadn’t noticed that area of the game as it was no longer a source of frustration. There was a contest but the game flowed, so I think we are probably seeing some benefits in that area.”

“I know the players are certainly playing with a lot more confidence in terms of attacking the ball or not I suspect it might be a little bit easier to watch. We haven’t had the mess that has been a bit of a blight on the game in recent times.”

So it’s on to Melbourne to face the Italians again next week, who, like the Wallabies, will also be better for the run you would think.