Deans on the All Blacks - "This will be very special"
July 20, 2008 - 4:56pm
Story by: ARU
Qantas Wallabies Head Coach Robbie Deans is eagerly looking forward to the biggest Test of the year - the Bledisloe Cup opener in Sydney next Saturday night – when the Wallabies meet the All Blacks and he’s already begun plotting another victory for the Men of Gold.
Deans, who played 5 Tests for the All Blacks from 1983 – 85, has a perfect four out of four record since taking over as Wallabies coach with wins over Ireland, France (twice) and the heroic 16-9 (two tries to nil) victory over the World Champion Springboks at Subiaco Oval.
But now Deans will turn his shrewd gaze to the All Blacks and one of the most anticipated rugby Tests in years at Sydney's ANZ Stadium next Saturday.
Adding extra motivation for Deans, if he needed any, is the fact he applied for the All Blacks coaching job after their Rugby World Cup flop last year but was surprisingly beaten to the job by incumbent Graham Henry.
Now he gets an opportunity to show who is the better coach. But Deans, true to form, is focusing on the field of play and will not be swayed by any talk about personal revenge.
"I suspect it's going to be very special," Deans said when asked about the match. "There's obviously going to be a lot of interest."
Deans said the Wallabies’ pride in their defence was the element that impressed him most about Saturday night's landmark victory, but he says the team needed improvement if they are going to beat the All Blacks.
"There is a lot of scope (for improvement) when you start looking at the detail," he said. "It's easy to look at the things that you didn't do but the key will be to add to what we did do.
"We'll go back and look at it on Monday. Until then it's going to be a matter of recovery and relax and enjoy the moment because it is a job well done against a side that we have a lot of respect for.”
But then it will be dowe to work, he added
"We'll find opportunities to grow and obviously we've got a different opponent coming next week and one that will have been sitting here watching and they will be looking to pick holes in us so it will be important for us to have an awareness of those needs that we have."
Some Bledisloe Cup tickets for next Saturday night are still available, so don't miss out on the biggest match of the year – Robbie Deans’ Wallabies, fresh from their magnificent victory over the World Champion Springboks, taking on the All Blacks. To get your tickets call Ticketek on 132 849 or visit www.ticketek.com.au.
