Wallabies desperate for parity with All Blacks

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IMPROVEMENT: The numbers still aren't flattering, but Wallabies coach Robbie Deans is adamant Australia have definitely improved at the end of their 2010 Tri-Nations campaign.

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Wallabies coach Robbie Deans admits the All Blacks have got his heart racing as he tries to find a way to stop their near total domination of his side.

The All Blacks scored seven tries to trounce Australia 49-28 in Melbourne yesterday.

That took their winning sequence against the Wallabies to eight tests.

Australia's last success was in Sydney in 2008 - Dean's first test in charge against New Zealand.

Now Deans brings his team to his old home town of Christchurch tomorrow with his impeccable Super rugby coaching record starting to fade as he struggles to find some magic on the test scene.

Asked how he was coping with an eighth loss on the trot, Deans said: "Your heart rate goes up."

But he has vowed to keep fighting.

"You go back to work next week in Christchurch. You keep going and try to find solutions."

He maintained the Wallabies' problems were "little things".

"But the little things are important in test matches and we gave them (the All Blacks) a lot of assistance."

He took heart from the way his side had hung in after they had lost wing Drew Mitchell to a red card a couple of minutes into the second half with the All Blacks ahead 32-14.

They scored two second half tries but still conceded three to the rampant All Blacks.

"Once we went to 14 men we were playing for pride I guess," Deans said.

"There was the potential there for it to blow out. The boys showed a lot of courage to essentially win the second half up to the last try.

"So it could have been worse. But essentially the contest was over at that point (when Mitchell went).

"The boys showed they were capable of scoring but having 14 men sapped a lot of energy out of them."

While he didn't want to comment on referee Craig Joubert's decision to hand Mitchell a second yellow card he felt "the game becomes a bit of a nonsense at this level" though that situation.

Joubert was a dominant figure on the night, keeping an eagle eye on the breakdowns and penalising anyone who was trying to slow down delivery of the ball.

The Wallabies weren't alone with the All Blacks also often in trouble, especially during the first half.

As the new interpretations allow, it was ruled in favour of the attacking side.

Things are getting desperate in the Wallabies camp now in their battle to gain parity with the All Blacks.

Deans clearly wants the desperation the side showed in the second half to translate into a 15-man performance in Christchurch.

- © Fairfax NZ News