NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Rugby / All Blacks

<i>All Blacks:</i> Deans has Wallabies on right track

Wynne Gray
By Wynne Gray
NZ Herald·
17 Jul, 2009 04:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Robbie Deans is ready. Photo / Getty Images

Robbie Deans is ready. Photo / Getty Images

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Robert Muldoon reckoned New Zealanders who left for Australia raised the IQ of both countries.

Mudslinging about sheep and dole bludgers tend to evaporate when the Ockers claim New Zealand's famous icons as their own. You know the drum.

Phar Lap, Split Enz, Russell Crowe, Fred Hollows, John Clarke, Jane
Campion - all success stories who mysteriously morph into Australian icons.

Who's next? Robbie Deans.

If the Wallabies are victorious in the opening Bledisloe Cup match tonight, the Governor-General will probably start dusting the cobwebs off the investiture sword. The citizenship papers will be in the post.

In his 13 months with the Wallaby squad, Deans has been on the lookout for smart players while he and his coaching staff have instilled the need for fitness, a stable scrum and better kicking skills.

But they face the All Black obstacles their predecessors have failed to hurdle at Eden Park since 1986. Since then it has been the Killing Fields for the Wallabies and every other team - except France.

As former coach David Brockhoff whispered this week at Sydney Airport: "It's full of ghosts."

However, icons of the sport in Australia Mark Ella, Nick Farr-Jones and John Eales believe Deans has the Wallabies back on track and in with a strong chance of reversing history.

"I think we lost our way after about 2001," Ella said. "But Robbie has given the team some stability, he gives the players a lot more ideas, he wants them to play what is in front of them.

"The players seem far more focused, they are much clearer on what they have to do and have more intent.

"He has a squad where they are all fighting for positions, he has brought over the sort of culture which was so successful at the Crusaders and he is doing a great job. I think if he wins the World Cup he will be an Aussie."

Farr-Jones loved the way the spirit of sacrifice had been regenerated under Deans' tutelage. The Wallabies were not yet playing with any great style, but the balance in the team and the depth of competition for places had been stimulated.

Deans had shown his dedication to grassroots rugby in Australia, often travelling huge distances to coach, talk or be at rugby clubs. That contribution was returned by the Wallabies.

"They have got a way to go but I love the way Robbie communicates. He is not regimented, he allows the side to play what is in front of them. If they want to strut their stuff he allows it, if they walk the tightrope that is okay too. He is not restricted by the four walls of the game."

Eales believed Deans' greatest strength was that he carried no bias.

He arrived with a great pedigree from the Crusaders, he was highly respected and had worked hard on instilling the right culture and confidence in the Wallabies.

"The results are not that much different to [former coach] John Connolly at this point, but you are getting the sense the team is building towards something. They are playing confidently and they have changed the way they defend and that is getting there.

"Robbie is a very consistent human being. He comes across very strongly, he wants an excellence of routine, he is not after a quick fix but things are trending nicely."

The Wallabies had too many dips in form last season, but were now showing greater consistency.

Rival coaches Graham Henry and Deans have been relaxed this week as they approach their initial 2009 rematch.

"I think there is more belief that the cohesion is there, but the reality is the test is coming," said Deans. "After the game we will analyse whether that was an illusion."

Deans labelled the attention last year on his rejection by the All Blacks and subsequent hiring by the Wallabies as ludicrous.

"The reality is that it is the Wallabies against the All Blacks and it has settled into a more normal frequency which is about these blokes and that is great.

"This is the showpiece of rugby. There is nothing better, nothing better than playing, to observe not only for those at the ground but for those watching when it is beamed around the world."

The Wallabies have won 14 of their 19 internationals since Deans started his four-year deal across the Ditch and the Australians come to Eden Park tonight with the belief they can complete what they failed to do at the same venue last year.

They arrive with 12 of the team who felt defeat last year, including flanker George Smith, who will collect his 100th test cap tonight. It was the time, he quipped, for ARU boss John O'Neill to give him a Rolex.

O'Neill just might if the Wallabies are victorious. If they lose again, they need to win all three remaining meetings in Sydney, Wellington and Tokyo to capture the Bledisloe Cup.

"I think this team is building to great things and I want to be a part of that," said Smith, who has signed on to the next World Cup in New Zealand.

Mortlock, the warrior centre for the Wallabies, will once more lead his side's challenge. Why, he was quizzed, was there such a hoodoo at Eden Park?

"It shouldn't be but the reality is some sort of hoodoo is there, and these sort of patterns sometimes eventuate in sport and the reality is they get broken," said Mortlock.

Asked what they would do in away time before the test, Mortlock and Smith thought they would take in a movie.

One wag suggested they should catch the latest Harry Potter flick to get them in the mood for a bit of magic.

It was time to leave, time for the test.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from All Blacks

All BlacksUpdated

All Blacks put France to sword as Dave Gallaher Trophy returns to New Zealand

12 Jul 09:07 AM
All BlacksUpdated

All Blacks reclaim Dave Gallaher Trophy with dominant win over France

12 Jul 08:53 AM
Premium
Opinion

Paul Lewis: Why chasing perfection in rugby is a flawed ambition

11 Jul 07:01 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from All Blacks

All Blacks put France to sword as Dave Gallaher Trophy returns to New Zealand

All Blacks put France to sword as Dave Gallaher Trophy returns to New Zealand

12 Jul 09:07 AM

A largely clinical showing sees the All Blacks lock away their first silverware of 2025.

All Blacks reclaim Dave Gallaher Trophy with dominant win over France

All Blacks reclaim Dave Gallaher Trophy with dominant win over France

12 Jul 08:53 AM
Premium
Paul Lewis: Why chasing perfection in rugby is a flawed ambition

Paul Lewis: Why chasing perfection in rugby is a flawed ambition

11 Jul 07:01 PM
Premium
All Blacks vs France: Where the second test can be won

All Blacks vs France: Where the second test can be won

11 Jul 02:51 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP