Following our RWC ejection in the semi-final against the All Blacks there have been strident calls by many for our national coach to be given the push.
Not only the coach but his assistants and the CEO, John O’Neill. ‘Let’s wipe the slate clean after this debacle and put Deans and his coaching regime out to pasture’. A withdrawal in belief…
In fact, from what I hear around the traps it’s all a vast conspiracy by the St Leonards Hill Mob. They have (that is, the bad guys) conspired to keep the new Australian rugby Messiah, Le Link (‘The Chosen One’), out of the job for at least the next two years and crikey, maybe even four!
Bastards! How dare they. Denying Australian rugby the services of like, definitely our next best new saviour. If only Link (‘The Chosen One’) was the coach. He’d fix it all. Like he’s done with the Waratahs, Stade Français, the Reds.
And what about that gutless and emasculated ARU Board — manipulated to the core by JO’N, the Dr Evil of the rugbysphere. Got that pussy Cosgrove in a squirrel grip, all right!
JO’N is apparently out to destroy Australian rugby as we know it, ably assisted by his KAOS operative, Austin NuciPowers. I tell you what, I just can’t wait for the next instalment!
Nor can I wait for Nuci’s review. I’ve actually been leaked the draft executive summary and it’s a genuinely independent, transparent and accountable report. Here’s an extract:
TOP SECRET
For Your Eyes Only
Dear Leader JO’N, I’m pleased to report that I’ve carried out your instructions to the letter. When we selected the squad, Robbie wanted Beau Robinson as the backup no. 7 but I overruled him, forcefully arguing that classic no. 7 play would be redundant at this RWC. During the campaign he kept selecting Berrick Barnes at 12 but I convinced him that, like at the Reds, it just wouldn’t work trying to pair him with QC — it’d become a headache.
When Robbie insisted on using Higgers against South Africa and the All Blacks he really bought that line I kept pedalling about Rocky still being a world-class player. The fake QC Twitter account was also a doosey, riling up those Kiwis with how cool I was under pressure. It all worked to a tee. And lastly, you were right about getting our own back on the Samoans. I took their manager out on the piss every night and boy, didn’t that create a fuss!
Anyhow, back to the real world. You can understand people being emotional after that loss — no, hammering — to the All Blacks but really, has it all been that bad?
Lie back and think of England: three times our playing resources but half our success. Ask South Africa, Ireland and Argentina whether we’ve failed?
Like everyone else, I’m pissed off we didn’t progress to the final. In fact, you’ve seen me whinging in these pages before about poor selections and tactics during the campaign, but did anyone actually believe we’d knock over the best team in the world, in their own backyard when their lives depended on it?
When was the last time we’d beaten them in NZ? I didn’t really think we had that much of a chance unless they really did choke under the pressure and we pulled one out of the bag, neither of which occurred. Essentially, they wanted it a whole lot more than us. End of story.
Without going over old ground, our tactics let us down throughout this campaign (which affected selections), our kicking game was poor, we still lost the collisions, didn’t seem to have a plan B and the scrummaging woes continue, etc. QC wasn’t the cause, he was the symptom.
That’s a litany of missteps and the buck must stop with Deans. He was out-coached on a couple of occasions. But let’s remember, we did pick up the bronze. In many sports they’d do a haka if they won that.
I think you can say that the best 30 players in Australia were selected, minus a backup no. 7 and maybe a utility (Gits perhaps) for the third scrum-half. There was no one left here crying out to be picked.
Deans has had four years at the helm (essentially three with ‘his team’) and I think there has been progress, but the two steps forward always come with one step back.
We’re pretty demanding with our sports people but in rugby I think we achieve far more than what we’re credited for, especially in view of the competitive sporting environment and our position in the scheme of things.
Do we need to cut ties with Deans? How much would that cost? Millions, I’d guess. You can probably understand why the ARU Board re-signed him for another two years but their gamble looked a bit shaky to me — sort of a buck each way, really?
My gut feeling is that Deans can do more with this group. Like Smug Ted, whose All Blacks team was dumped from RWC2007 in the quarter finals, if you’re prepared to learn from the experience you can grow and build on that. Mind you, I reckon if I coached the All Blacks they’d still win 80 per cent of the time too….
Deans’s winning percentage might be up there with Eddie Jones and Knuckles Connolly but let’s remember, these days they’re playing more Tests than ever before (Tests p.a.: Jones 11, Connolly 12.5, Deans 13.7).
Also, the Tests they’re playing have markedly increased against the Southern Hemisphere powerhouses (average games p.a. versus Boks and ABs: Jones 4.2, Connolly 5, Deans 6.75).
Is there any sign of player dissatisfaction from within the group? That’s a good indication of stability and direction. Apart from one who’s been discarded, no. In fact, many of the players were tripping over themselves to sign new contracts with the ARU, which suggests they’re happy with the progress.
So, sorry people, all this mass hysteria about dumping the coach just doesn’t cut it with me. It’s a little bit knee-jerk. Le Link (‘The Chosen One’) has done a pretty good job at the Reds but in my view there’s still plenty more to be done there.
Winning a Super Rugby title in a year when the focus should be on Super Rugby, for one. Horan’s ‘dynasty’ for another, and third, when circumstances dictate that all teams are competing on a level playing field….
Deans has developed some of these guys (in conjunction with all the Super Rugby coaches) and I think their best is a year or two away. He’s recognised areas that need improvement and acted upon it — the scrum camp for example — although we have yet to reap the reward.
Is he able to get the best out of Australian players? I’d imagine he’d get very frustrated with their inconsistency. I think the jury’s still out on that one.
Did we achieve a Pass mark at the RWC in the court of public opinion? We may have achieved an ARU KPI, but nup. Only a win would have done that, and we probably blew that opportunity in the pool rounds.
Link’s (‘The Chosen One’) turn will rightly come to pass but Deans is still in charge, as he should be. We came third in the RWC2011 and are lying second in the world rankings. He’s got another two years to fulfil his and his player’s potential. I’m comfortable with that and expecting graduated improvement as his young team matures.
There are very small margins between success and failure at this level. It’s never good enough coming second or third but it’s time to get over it and move on. You don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
