Nightmare for Deans
2008-09-01 10:50
Sydney - Robbie Deans' honeymoon period with Australia rugby is well and truly over after overseeing the Wallabies' worst ever Test loss.
Aussie legend Mark Ella fears even worse at the hands of the All Blacks in the Tri-Nations decider unless major adjustments are made.
Thumped 53-8 by South Africa in Johannesburg, the heat is building on Deans who made a dream start to his tenure before some reality hit with big losses to the All Blacks in Auckland and the Boks in Jo'burg.
Nestled between these two results he oversaw the Wallabies' first win in South Africa in eight years, making this latest effort even more bemusing.
But it's clear that the microscope will be focusing on his methods more closely now. People across the Tasman are demanding explanations and appropriate responses by Deans and his team with the September 13 date with the All Blacks in Brisbane taking on increasing proportions.
Ella raised several relevant points in his weekly column in The Australian newspaper in the wake of this latest embarrassment.
Compete effectively
"I am trying to find some positives out of the game but none come readily to mind," wrote Ella.
"Deans and the Wallabies now have two weeks to forget about this nightmare and regroup to be able to compete effectively at Suncorp Stadium.
"This will be a new experience for him as he has probably never been in this position before with the Crusaders or the All Blacks.
"It is back to the drawing board for Wallabies forward coaches Jim Williams and Michael Foley as our lineout was a disgrace with numerous crooked throws and a wobbly scrum.
"If our set piece performs like this against New Zealand, the score could reach triple figures."
Ella suggested the cracks that appeared in the big loss in Auckland had only been papered over in the subsequent win in Durban.
"After last week's gutsy effort by the Wallabies to win in South Africa for the first time in eight years many of our critics, including me, glossed over many of the deficiencies last week," wrote Ella.
'Lack of structure'
"It's easy in the light of their mauling in Johannesburg but we the Wallabies were well and truly below par with poor passing and aimless kicking in Durban which obviously caught up with them this weekend.
"The alarming thing from the Wallabies' perspective was the lack of structure or urgency in both attack and defence."
Ella suggested Deans had to be held fully responsible and suggested he might need some help with the defensive systems at Test level after the Australian union had sacked John Muggleton from this position.
"Deans is the man now in charge of their defence and attack, I think now that the honeymoon period is over, questions now need to be asked about both areas of the game and if some of the defensive responsibilities can be passed on.
"Australia appeared to have no attacking structure other that kicking the leather off the ball."
"How the Wallabies ever thought that they could compete in a kicking contest at altitude against Conrad Jantjes and Butch James was taking it a way to far, particularly without Berrick Barnes assisting five-eighth Matt Giteau because of injury.
"When the Aussies did kick the ball high, there was never any pressure put on the Boks.
Guilty
"It was the Wallabies worst performance in South Africa since 1997 and puts the heat well and truly on Robbie Deans and his coaching team before they play the All Blacks."
The Wallabies appeared guilty of having an eye on that Brisbane match when they ran out at Ellis Park for a game that had no relevance to the Tri-Nations standings.
But Deans could not have imagined a hiding like this.
Aussie casualness and ineptitude, the altitude factor and a rampant Springboks team determined to halt a three-match losing streak proved too much.
Deans has managed to recover from some heavy losses with the Crusaders before and showed how he could alter things between Auckland and Durban with the Wallabies as well. This will Test his abilities now though.
Australia have a week off now and he will certainly be doing everything in his power to rectify this latest horror result.
Inconsistencies
In the first season of a four-year deal, Deans is probably ahead of schedule in anyone's thinking, especially given the poor efforts of the Wallabies over the past two or three years and the question marks on their player depth and scrummaging.
But the inconsistencies that blotted the latter days of Eddie Jones' reign and the short tenure of John Connolly are starting to rear their ugly heads again.
Narrow losses are one thing but humiliations like those at Eden Park and Ellis Park can be haunting - to players and coaches.
In a tournament of contrasting performances and results from all three teams it will be fascinating to see how the title match plays out.
The All Blacks have momentum on their side after their impressive wins over the Wallabies and South Africans. But that has also been stalled by their inactivity over the past fortnight and having just a "test" against a worryingly weak Samoan side this week before heading to Brisbane on Sunday.