Bledisloe will help sort out who's best

Fairfax Media

BATTLE ROYAL: Graham Henry, left, will go head-to-head with Robbie Deans in a battle to coach the All Blacks. The NZRU's decison will be formally released on Friday.

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Duncan Johnstone

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The trans-Tasman heavyweight contest has been confirmed. In the black corner, Graham Henry. In the gold corner, Robbie Deans. The title fight will be over three rounds in July, August and September next year. Bring it on.

Deans' appointment as Wallabies coach following the reappointment of Henry to the All Blacks position sets up a juicy Bledisloe Cup battle.

There's never any lack of interest in the Bledisloe Cup. In the agonisingly long absence of the World Cup from these shores the giant piece of silverware is our most treasured trophy after all.

But there will be an added edge to next year's three-test series now with Kiwi coaches in charge of both sides.

It's a promoter's dream and you can be sure that those annual Bledisloe Cup advertisements on Australian TV are already being worked up by the creative minds in Sydney.

There will be no shortage of material for them to work with now.

It's no secret that Deans was unhappy with the treatment he got when he fronted for the All Blacks position and was told "no thanks".

And Henry's trademark smirk that followed had politics written all over it.

The Henry-Deans debate has raged since New Zealand's lame World Cup effort in October and there is no sign of it abating. And it's certainly been a topic that has polarised the country.

But, like them or not, the decisions have been made and now the two coaches go head-to-head. And there will be no better place to sort out the various merits of these two fine rugby minds than on the field.

The early advantage will be with Henry. He has continuity on his side after all while Deans has a major assignment on his hands to knock his side, particularly his tight five, into shape.

But Deans gets the chance to strike first. The opening Bledisloe Cup test is in Sydney on July 26. That's never an easy assignment for the All Blacks and you can be sure of a sellout and the massive stadium there.

Henry's All Blacks have the right of reply in Auckland a week later on August 2.

The third - and possibly deciding - test swings back to Australia in Brisbane on September 13.

The South African leg of the Tri-Nations is played out between the second and third Bledisloe tests, meaning plenty of time to focus on the progress of both the All Blacks and the Wallabies against the world champion Springboks.

Deans knows what it takes to win the Bledisloe Cup. Don't forget he and John Mitchell ended New Zealand's six-year drought when they won back the treasured trophy in 2003.

Henry knows what it takes to defend it. He's done that successfully for the past four years although he has had the luxury of operating in a two-test series which favours the holder for three of those seasons.

Now it's back to best-of-three with two of them across the ditch where Henry has lost twice - in 2004 and again this year.

There are plenty of questions hanging over these two teams.

Can Henry sort out a new midfield? Can the All Blacks overcome the mental frailties that haunted them in Melbourne and Cardiff this year?

Who will Deans choose to replace the deadly duo of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham? Can he build a competitive scrum in time? Can he maximise undoubted talent like Lote Tuqiri?

Will we be any closer to knowing who really is the best coach between these two New Zealanders? Maybe not just yet. That might not happen until 2011 when the World Cup is held in New Zealand.

But you can be sure we are in for one heck of a time as the beloved Bledisloe takes on even bigger dimensions. Bring it on.

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