Chris Rattue: Unwise to rush judgment of canny Deans

The overwhelming rush to pass bitter judgement on the Wallabies coach Robbie Deans this week has trampled a few reputations, but only those in the stampeding pack.

Almost every man and his dog on both sides of the Tasman - with a couple of exceptions - appeared eager to get Deans in the sights, or at least load the muskets.

The latent hostility towards Deans in this country has often been baffling, especially considering the remarkable leeway afforded to others. The "name" critics this time included Taine Randell, the former All Black captain, who reckons the test side reflects the character of Deans' previous teams in that it lacks mongrel in the pack. In support of his case he put forward Exhibit AB: that the All Blacks of 2003, under John Mitchell and Deans, were bullied in the forwards.

Is it too picky to point out that the coach of that side was Mitchell, a former All Black forward, while Deans, an ex-fullback, was the assistant?

Even if Randell is right about the bullying, he has the 2003 buck stopping in the wrong place and, furthermore, he was no Buck himself. Randell the Rampant or Taine the Terrible? Not likely.

Weaknesses. Well, we've all got those. Such a blatant effort to find fault in a man with Deans' record invites suspicion.

There is a grain of truth in Randell's sandcastle, because Deans' almost unbeatable Crusaders were based around channelling aggression in the right direction. The teams Randell is dissing handled all sorts,
including big South African packs, home and away.

Deans is clearly struggling in this department with the Wallabies, who
are conceding penalties as they struggle to match their Tri-Nations
opponents in the forwards. But Deans can only work with what's available to him, which is barely adequate although by no means hopeless. Deans could have done better, but others would have done far worse.

The common cry is that the Wallabies must concede fewer penalties, especially with Dan Carter and Morne Steyn lurking about. But when you are under duress, conceding penalties is almost a necessary evil.

The argument that Deans' Crusaders lacked power and aggression, though, is a misnomer. What his teams lacked was showy aggression - he left the peacocks for others to admire - but they had power all right.

He is the man who secured then nurtured Brad Thorn, who brought him back to rugby, whose faith in this giant slab of human granite has paid
enormous dividends for the All Blacks, whose present coaching regime
initially discarded the ex-Brisbane Bronco as unfit for test duty as they searched about for aerial stringbeans.

Deans also had the powerhouse Ron Cribb firing like the best No 8 candidate in years, but it was a career that went sadly astray when Cribb returned to the Blues.

I've also met a couple of representative hookers who reckoned the old Deans hooker Mark Hammett was the hardest scrummager they ever slammed heads with. The All Black coaches certainly seem enamoured with the types of forwards who are still coming out of the school that Deans
created. Owen Franks, Kieran Read, Isaac Ross - they've got the Deans work ethic motto written all over them.

And while Deans' backlines tended to rely on genuine footballers rather
than hit-and-miss special projects, he wasn't averse to the power of a player like Casey Laulala. All teams need a balance, and Deans' Crusaders had that, although they did tend to bypass the Cleopatras of the rugby world, the blockbuster failures.

But yes, Deans does like immaculate footballers, including backs who kick well, have speed and fitness, and will concentrate every step of
the way in terms of positioning themselves in support and chasing kicks. You can see this in the players he is promoting in the Wallaby backline.

Like all great coaches, he will adjust to the circumstances. And he'll
also have his unbending ways. To cast such harsh doubt over him after only a year and a bit in the job, especially when his record is fair
rather than disastrous, suggests ulterior motives are at play.

Maybe Randell is still peeved at being handed one dud captaincy assignment by Mitchell and Deans before being cut from the 2003 World
Cup plans.

Another critic has been Andrew Slack, the former Wallaby captain, who announced Deans' honeymoon period was over, which is fair to a point.

But he added: "Defeat against New Zealand on Saturday in Sydney
equates to a broken promise and once you stop trusting, a relationship can deteriorate rapidly."

Fair cop. It's all good pre-test fodder, and healthy opinion. But broken promise? Already? Come on.

Like all international coaches, Deans is under pressure in every test. I suspect he is deeply unhappy with some aspects and genuinely worried
about his ability to fix the problems. He will be questioning his own methods, as a relatively new international coach. He will also be out to learn.

To hang this kind of judgment over him at this point, a season and a half into rescuing an Australian team that was in disarray under the best coaches Australia could offer, is farcical.

Slack lasted just one inglorious year as the coach of Queensland.

Slack had the chance to mould himself as a test-quality coach, but couldn't make the grade. In such circumstances, you would think he might offer the man who has made the grade, and then some, a little more leeway.

One of the ironies of professional rugby is this: Australian rugby - partly through rubbing shoulders with superb league coaching - produced some of the greatest coaches in the world during the amateur days, especially Alan Jones and Bob Dwyer. They were initially followed by the super-pro Rod Macqueen and mercurial Eddie Jones, yet Australia is struggling to come up with a credible Super 14 coach deep into the professional era, let alone one to guide the Wallabies.

Their whole game was in dire straits. Deans has been handed an inferior stock of players, and for that men like Slack are responsible. When Deans arrived, Australian rugby was in serious decay.

If Slack wants to hound Deans out of Australia, he might first come up with a few potential replacement coaches with long-term remedies for his own country's sake.

Slack's words reminded me of a wonderful commentary moment - it was the Irishman David Feherty I think - during the PGA golf tournament which concluded in high drama on Monday.

Feherty quipped that since he had put the clubs down and taken up the
microphone, he had become much better at reading greens and putts,
even though he was situated a lot further away.

I'll lean on what I know about Deans in order to predict the future.

I have long been told by various trainers around New Zealand that the Crusaders led the way in strength and fitness, that Deans - via the Australian trainer Ash Jones - was prepared to break men in the gym in
order to break opponents on the field.

Deans' teams invariably played out to the bitter end, during games, and
over the season.

In contrast, other New Zealand Super franchises have failed in varying
degrees in this area. I was told recently of a struggling All Black who entered a gymnasium, high-fived a few mates, did a couple of weight exercises, and high-tailed it out of there having barely raised a sweat. I was also told of another incident in which a leading player point-blank refused to follow a trainer's guidance, leading to a
threatening confrontation, and the removal of the trainer. This never
happened in Deans country.

The Wallabies should have Rocky Elsom back to add grunt, but there really isn't anywhere else that Deans can turn to to bring more
explosiveness to his pack right now, although he probably has a couple of special projects on the go.

But by the time his plans come to fruition, the Wallabies will still rely heavily on guile, strength and fitness to try to combat the more explosive power of the Springboks and a full-strength All Black lineup.

That, in many ways, has been the Wallaby formula from their most recently successful days, when resilient, crafty and athletic packs
were studded by the odd sledgehammer such as Toutai Kefu or Owen Finegan. Elsom, who won rave reviews with Leinster, is the modern-day Kefu or Finegan.

The returning Elsom would be the vital new ingredient, just as Dan
Carter - footballer extraordinaire and the underpants-billboard king - is for the All Blacks. The Sydney test could be promoted as Rocky versus Jockey.

It will be another fascinating and probably close battle.

As to a final judgment on Deans, the man deserves far more time. But feel free, Australia. Turn the pot-shots into cannon balls. Dare you.

* * *

What a brilliant finish to the PGA golf, where no-name Y.E. Yang dealt to Tiger Woods. The man in white did it with a wonderful smile, even when things didn't go to plan, and produced one of the greatest shots in golf on his approach to the final green. There was also a miraculous chip-in a few holes earlier. Yang played with verve and nerve on a day never to forget and celebrated with spontaneous delight.

Tiger was unusually gracious in defeat, praising the Korean. So where
does this result, and major-less season, leave Woods? I'd still back him to get the five major titles needed to overtake Jack Nicklaus' record of 18, but it's going to be more of a struggle than many of us predicted. He's not quite the genius of old, but was still challenging
a lot harder than the other big names.

Be warned. Tiger will retire to his gilded cage, plotting the comeback. When you see a wounded Tiger, you start hearing that da-da-da-da-da theme music to the movie Jaws, as he swims below the surface ready to strike.

Unlike Yang, Woods was wound up like a spring on the final day, with
Steve Williams relentlessly in his ear. Maybe Woods and his omnipresent
caddy might relax a bit - it could be his magic new formula.