Rugby: Deans to axe ill-disciplined Wallabies

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has pinpointed the lineout and discipline as the areas which let his side down against the Springboks. Photo / Getty Images

SYDNEY - Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has warned that players who continue to lack discipline will be dropped and says his team "froze" in the lineouts under pressure from South Africa last weekend.

The Australians returned home yesterday following a 29-17 loss to the Springboks in Cape Town on Sunday (NZT).

Captain and centre Stirling Mortlock, who was using crutches, said he expected to find out in a couple of days the full extent of the knee injury which forced him off the field.

Mortlock said he would definitely miss Australia's next Tri Nations fixture against New Zealand in Sydney on Saturday week.

He didn't want to dwell on the ramifications of a negative MRI, but Deans suggested his skipper could miss all of Australia's four remaining matches if the test revealed cartilage damage.

Mortlock apart, Deans reported no injuries and was more concerned with the mental than physical state of his players.

The New Zealand-born coach suggested Australia would have trouble beating their Tri Nations opponents until they mastered their own minds.

Deans pinpointed two key areas that let the Wallabies down against South Africa.

"One was obviously the lineout and the other was discipline," Deans told reporters at Sydney airport on Monday.

"That's the second instance of that, so until we get that right we are not going to prevail in this competition because you just don't get given results when playing against the All Blacks and Springboks."

The sin-binnings of five-eighth Matt Giteau and flanker Richard Brown reduced the Wallabies to 13 men late in the first half and Australia lost their other flanker George Smith to another yellow card just before the end.

Following another ill-disciplined display in their 22-16 Tri Nations opening loss to New Zealand in Auckland last month, Deans suggested the axe would fall on players who continued to offend.

"If you keep going back to that trough and don't address that habit, there's only one other way of addressing it, that's to remove those that are drinking from that trough," Deans said.

The Wallabies lost nine lineout throws to the Springboks in Cape Town and Deans believed the problem was at much mental as technical.

"We essentially froze and that's what pressure does to you," Deans said of Australia's lineout woes.

"We know that they're a capable lineout and they create doubts in your own mind through their presence and history of performance in that area.

"You've got the two best locks (Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha) in the world and also height at the back in (Pierre) Spies, so that just adds a little bit of pressure.

"But the key is to master ourselves before we master our circumstance. A lot of it is still in our own thinking, until we master that, we won't give ourselves the best opportunity of mastering our opponent."

Deans and Mortlock were adamant Australia still had some chance of winning the Tri Nations title despite losing their first two fixtures.

The pointed out that no away team had won any of the four fixtures played so far and that Australia still had its three home games to come.

Deans welcomed the news that his old Crusaders' five-eighth Dan Carter had been recalled to the All Blacks' squad.

"It's good for us, hopefully it will bring the best out of us," Deans said.

- AAP