Aussie love affair with coach Kiwi Robbie Deans dying...

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Aussie love affair with coach Kiwi Robbie  Deans  dying...




The pressure is on Australian coach Robbie Deans after Sunday's Tri-Nations loss to South Africa.Mark it down as the time in history when Australian rugby's love affair with Robbie Deans finally died.



The fall-out from the latest defeat of Deans' Wallabies in this season's Tri-Nations, began to get serious yesterday. Media men dipped pens into their pots of acid and began furiously to scrawl their invective.



But none matched the words of former Australian coach Bob Dwyer, who condemned Deans as "pig-headed, blinkered and bloody minded". All of which represented a decent serve, in anyone's language ...



Dwyer, writing on his website www.bobdwyerrugby.com, savaged the New Zealander who is now under fierce pressure as Wallaby coach. He wrote "Selection plays a vital role in the fortunes of a team. The Springboks have belatedly begun to understand that simple fact but not so the Wallabies.



"Can someone please tell me, in what part of the game is [hooker] Saia Faainga considered superior to Stephen Moore? Moore is a much better scrummager and line-out thrower, surely the two fundamental roles of the hooker.


Then Moore is an excellent ball carrier, compared to Faainga's modest talent in this facet of play.



"Moore is vastly more experienced than his younger teammate and surely this is a vital commodity in such a crunch match."



Dwyer went on to spotlight Faainga's performance in Pretoria. He concluded "In the first half, he managed to give away three penalties and had two poor throws. In the second half, his performance deteriorated still further with even his tackling less sure.



"My total was four penalties (conceded), three poor throws, one missed tackle and two turnovers. When you add his inability at the scrum, this was a terrible performance. Yet Moore remained on the bench.



"This is nothing short of bloody-mindedness on the part of Robbie Deans."



Dwyer said that full-back Kurtley Beale was "outstanding" and went on "Even our blinkered selection panel seems finally to understand this - although he was only given his chance because of injuries."

But Deans' poor use of his substitutes on Saturday further angered Dwyer. "Deans frequently leaves us puzzled with his handling of the bench but Saturday's effort reached new heights.



"His pig-headedness and/or lack of selection ability made a significant contribution to this Wallaby loss. This was a game the Wallabies could have won. Yet despite the fact that they did not score a point in the last 30 minutes and were clearly tiring, Deans left four players unused on the bench.



"The Wallabies were dusted at the scrum, dusted at the line-out and ran out of puff. We had at hand the answer to most, if not all, of these problems and we stubbornly refused to use it. How much longer are we Wallabies' supporters going to be forced to tolerate this treatment?



"Even the Jaapies are less pig-headed than us."



And from a technical point of view, Dwyer was equally scathing of Deans' team. "Every single pass - yes EVERY - from the Wallabies is a 'reload and sling', making it absolutely impossible for any player to change or adjust his line onto the pass. This is not good enough."


Footnote:


Lets face it - Faainga wouldn't make a Kiwi Super 14 team. How can Robbie make silk purses out of this Aussie pig's ear of a team? A few brilliant players and a bunch of useless tyros! Australia does not have a team capable of putting up a creditable performance at next year's Rugby World Cup. Sure they can attack at times, but their defence is full of gigantic holes! Oh for a champion Crusaders team, eh Robbie?


Acknowledgements: Peter Bills

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All Blacks thrash Wallabies 33-6 in final game...

The New Zealand All Blacks excised some of their demons of the current season while losing three times during the Tri-Nations tournament against South Africa; last night they made it three zip against the Australian Wallabies

New Zealand 33-6 Australia
New Zealand (16) 33
Tries: Jane, Nonu, Rokocoko Cons: Carter 3 Pens: Carter 4
Australia (6) 6
Pen: Giteau Drop-goal: Barnes



Nonu scored a stunning solo try with five minutes remaining
New Zealand thrashed Australia in Wellington on Saturday to finish second in the 2009 Tri-Nations table behind runaway champions South Africa.

A converted Cory Jane try and three Dan Carter penalties, to a Matt Giteau penalty and Berrick Barnes drop-goal, gave the hosts a 16-6 half-time lead.

Carter added a fourth penalty before Ma'a Nonu thundered over from the 22.

Joe Rokocoko dived over in the corner late on as the All Blacks made it six wins in a row over the Wallabies.

The two teams meet again in Tokyo on 31 October, the week before the All Blacks face Wales in Cardiff and England host Australia at Twickenham.

The convincing nature of the victory will have come as a big relief to under-pressure New Zealand coach Graham Henry.

606: DEBATE
Well the AB's are back - they may not be back to their best but the win over Australia was convincing

biltongbek
The All Blacks dominated Australia in the line-out and with their pack monopolising possession, the backs had too much pace and power for the visitors.

New Zealand showed their attacking intent from the kick-off as they opted to keep the ball in hand but it was the Wallabies who scored first, Giteau slotting a penalty after Brad Thorn was ruled offside.

However, the Wallabies fly-half was off-target with his second attempt three minutes later and never got another chance to kick at goal.

Three Carter penalties edged the All Blacks 9-3 ahead and although Barnes reduced the gap to three with a drop-goal after Isaia Toeava was yellow carded for a high tackle on James O'Connor, that was as good as it got for the struggling visitors.


Rokocoko's late score was the icing on the cake for New Zealand
The All Blacks shrugged off the absence of Toeava to score their first try in the 31st minute.

A well-judged kick by Mils Muliaina was claimed by Jane off O'Connor's shoulder and the winger stepped another tackle before diving over the line.

Carter landed the conversion and added a fourth penalty soon after the break to make it 19-6.

The hosts hammered away at the Wallabies, who were barely able to mount a worthwhile attack in the second half, and the visitors' defence finally cracked with five minutes to go.

When the ball was fed into midfield the Wallabies looked well set but Nonu burst between tacklers to break the initial line of defence before his power took him through three more defenders to score a typically powerful try.

Carter converted and he was on target from the touchline after the All Blacks finished with a flourish, Rokocoko scoring with a trademark dive after New Zealand had spun the ball down the line.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Zealand: Muliaina; Jane, Toeava, Nonu, Rokocoko; Carter, Cowan; Tialata, Hore, Woodcock, Donnelly, Thorn, Read, McCaw (c), Thomson.
Replacements: de Malmanche, Afoa, Eaton, So'oialo, Leonard, Donald, Gear.

Australia: O'Connor; Turner, Ashley-Cooper, Barnes, Mitchell; Giteau, Genia; Alexander, Polota-Nau, Robinson, Chisholm, Horwill, Smith (c), Pocock, Elsom.
Replacements: Moore, Cowan, Mumm, Palu, Burgess, Cooper, Hynes

Should Dan Carter be rushed back into the All Blacks against the Wallabies

Dan Carter's rapid recall is a no-brainer - or desperation.


Should Dan Carter have been rushed back into the All Blacks

No-brainer or desperation? There will be opposing viewpoints about the merits and speed of Daniel Carter's return to the All Blacks squad but the big question now is whether he will start in the Sydney test in a fortnight.

Carter will play for Canterbury against Waikato on Friday night to bring his tally of games to four since he resumed rugby after six months out of the game recovering from surgery to repair his snapped Achilles tendon.

On that workload, scouts' reports and their own observation, the selectors have picked Carter for a training camp in Auckland tomorrow and the rest of the Tri-Nations campaign.

That rapid recall suggests many things but clearly Carter has passed the criteria espoused recently by Steve Hansen when he suggested that unless the five-eighths was 100 per cent fit "it would be a form of panic I think".

On that medical evidence and the combination of Carter's cautious return and skills which place him in the superstar category, he must be in the starting XV or reserves in Sydney.

If he starts it would not be an indictment of Stephen Donald, more a recognition that Carter is a once in a generation player; or perhaps once in a lifetime, like his fellow Cantabrian and captain, Richie McCaw.

Donald was one of the more consistent players in the messy campaign against the Springboks and goaled eight from nine kicks in Bloemfontein and Durban.

But a fit, sharp Carter will give the All Blacks extra confidence, authority and experience if they use him in Sydney. There would be a parallel with the cult movie Get Carter, where the star sets out to avenge the death of his brother.

Yesterday Carter said one person could not change a team's fortunes. "It is a team performance."

He described the transition to test rugby as a "huge step up from what I have experienced in the last three weeks". "If I get the opportunity that would be great but it would be extremely tough."

Carter would be seen as a talisman by the All Blacks and a feared rival by the Wallabies who are likely to be without their skipper, Stirling Mortlock.

"He is a key member of the All Blacks, has recovered well from his injury and has made a great return to rugby so now is the right time to bring him back into the squad," coach Graham Henry said.

All Blacks backs coach Wayne Smith said Carter should not be seen as "the cavalry riding over the hill to save us". Smith had been surprised at how quickly the experienced pivot has returned to form.

"His ability to break, and the speed that he has got, has been a surprise to me, having seen that sort of injury before."

Carter has not played a test since late last year when he piloted the All Blacks to a 32-6 win against England.

He will begin his next step towards that international stage when he joins an extended All Blacks squad for the training camp tomorrow.

Tamati Ellison and Tom Donnolly will also attend the camp to cover for the injured Isaia Toeava and Bryn Evans while the squad travelling to Sydney will be trimmed to 26 on Saturday.

Toeava has been resting a stress fracture in his foot while Evans has been suffering from lower back and leg pain and withdrew from the weekend's latest NPC round.

Acknowledgements: Wynne Grey, NZ Herald

All Blacks 22-16 - Wallabies blew it - lack of discipline...

The Wallabies blew it - big time. This was their best chance in ages to end the 23-year Eden Park hoodoo and once again they suffered from stage fright, squandering an early 10-point lead and wasting several massive opportunities to put the All Blacks away.


The Wallabies cannot blame anyone but themselves for once again leaving Auckland with nothing when they had many chances to get well ahead of a committed but far from impressive New Zealand outfit, only to constantly lose possession in the opposition quarter.

Gift tries were missed through wrong back-line options and nearly every time they found themselves with the upper hand in the All Blacks' quarter someone in the Australian team would lose the ball at the breakdown. Good lead-up work was over and over again ruined by the Wallabies' inability to maintain the pressure.

For the upteenth time since 1986, the Wallabies showed they are not yet mentally up to beating the All Blacks on home soil. They are too easily intimidated. The skills and fitness have improved in the past year but the killer instinct is not there.

And, most importantly, the Wallabies cannot match the All Blacks in keeping their composure or momentum, especially in the second half when the home team picked up the pace. As usual, the Wallabies had great moments but then fluffed their lines at the crucial time.

One of the few Wallabies who did stand up to the tension was fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper, but too many others in the green and gold didn't.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans and his players tried to remain upbeat after the game, but the pain was obvious.

"We didn't take the opportunities and we enabled the All Blacks to play conservative and grind it out," Deans said. "It is frustrating to finish short."

Adding to the pain was that the Wallabies began the Test in spectacular fashion when inside-centre Berrick Barnes showed his deft skills by bluffing the All Blacks defence with a smart weave and a sneaky dummy pass, which opened the way for him to score the opening try in just the fourth minute.

Sadly, the Wallabies were unable to take full advantage of the excellent start. A critical moment occurred in the 17th minute when Barnes had the chance to put Stirling Mortlock into a gap - the captain was charging in on an acute angle - or to throw wide to winger Drew Mitchell, who had no one in front of him.

An Australian try appeared certain, and with it a 14-point lead, but Barnes took the wrong option of going himself and was swamped before throwing a high pass to George Smith, which crashed into his head. The moment was lost. And moments like these win Test matches.

As Barnes said last night: "If I had my time again, I would have passed it."

Another bad moment for Australia came just before half-time when they were unable to sustain the pressure and - after finding themselves perched on the All Blacks' line - lost possession. Again another try-scoring opportunity was wasted.

Nonetheless, the Wallabies kept their composure for most of the first half and were deserving 13-10 leaders at the break after a fast, entertaining and dramatic session.

All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen admitted it took time for his side to adjust to the wet and windy weather.

"I think the slow start came down to the conditions," Hansen said. "We didn't really master the conditions that well and we allowed ourselves to be put under pressure at lineout time."

As expected, the breakdown tussle was intense, with Australia having the early ascendancy until All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, who was not sighted in the opening quarter, found his legs and broke the Wallabies defence in the 23rd minute, scoring from a precise pass from outside-centre Conrad Smith.

The South African referee, Craig Joubert, was - as expected - extremely jittery and appeared obsessed in keeping control by repeatedly penalising both sides.

For much of the the second half, Joubert continued to irritate both teams by finding fault with them and the the game degenerated into a penalty goal shoot-out between Giteau and Stephen Donald. At times the Wallabies had no idea why Joubert found fault with tight-head prop Al Baxter at scrum time. But they were also their own worst enemies, repeatedly losing possession in the All Blacks quarter.

NEW ZEALAND 22 (Richard McCaw try Stephen Donald con 5 pens)

AUSTRALIA 16 (Berrick Barnes try Matt Giteau con 3 pens)