Richard Loe: Deans a wanted man but there's more for him to do here in New Zealand

It doesn't surprise me at all that Crusaders coach Robbie Deans is being linked to a number of overseas jobs.

His record with the Crusaders is outstanding and Robbie is one of those coaches who has done his time - served his apprenticeship if you like.

He started out with the Glenmark Club before graduating to Canterbury Country then the Crusaders. So he has done the hard yards and built a wealth of experience.

The success that Robbie has delivered at the Crusaders hasn't happened by chance.

It has come about because Robbie brings enormous professionalism as well as a very clever rugby brain to his work.

I have known Robbie for what seems like forever. I played Under-11s with his younger brother Bruce and was the scrum coach for the All Blacks when Robbie and John Mitchell were in charge.

I speak from first-hand experience when I say that he is one of the best-prepared coaches in the game. As a player he was meticulous in his preparation. And the same is true of his coaching. He plans and organises in intimate detail and is so precise in everything he does and says.

I don't think there have been many occasions when Robbie has been accused of making a throwaway line to the media. He thinks hard about everything he says and is always measured.

That precision is reflected in the way the Crusaders play. Against the Blues last week they went 10 points behind quite early but by just after halftime they had the Blues by the throat.

Some people have suggested that Robbie made some pointed comments about the Blues after the game to deflect criticism away from his team but I think that is drawing a long bow.

The verbal stoush that has arisen since that game last week is maybe more to do with the fact that the Crusaders, just as Auckland were in the 1980s, have become the team everyone wants to beat.

That raises the stakes and the increased pressure is something that Robbie will see as a challenge.

And because of the ever-changing nature of that challenge, I don't think he is any rush to get over to Wales or any of the other jobs he has supposedly been offered.

Every man has his price but there is plenty to keep Robbie interested at the Crusaders for a while yet. He has two new exciting halfbacks and a number of other young players in the squad, while players like Reuben Thorne, Caleb Ralph and Leon MacDonald continue to evolve.

By the time his contract expires next year, only Robbie can say whether he feels there is any more he can do with the Crusaders.

I don't think there is any doubt that Robbie is of the requisite calibre to have another crack with the All Blacks, should the current structure change after the World Cup.

We have seen Wayne Smith come back successfully after having already had a bat and Brian Lochore, too, is involved again after stepping down in 1987.

Good coaches are learning all the time and Robbie is a better coach now than he was in 2001 when he worked as Mitchell's assistant.

That's not to say he was a bad coach then. I am not sure that Robbie and Mitchell should have been kicked out. The All Blacks produced some very good rugby and some very good results when these two were in charge.

But they were let go. The important thing, though, is that both men have gone on to show that they are very good coaches with a lot to offer.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY