Deans walks in the valley of doubt

Rugby writers GREG GROWDEN, on tour with the Wallabies, and RICHARD KNOWLER of The Press, analyse the present predicament of Australian coach Robbie Deans, the highly successful former Crusaders mentor.

Robbie Deans is facing the most difficult week of his coaching career, in which he must persuade the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and Wallabies supporters he has the complete support of his players and the ability to rid them of their losing mentality.

Although the ARU has said it fully supports Deans as coach and his position is not under threat, it is understood there are concerns he may be struggling to persuade everyone within the Wallabies that he can turn them into a World Cup power within two years.

During Deans' two seasons as Wallabies head coach, the team has experienced a series of dramatic and perplexing lows, including a record 53-8 loss to South Africa in Johannesburg last year, a dreadful effort against the All Blacks in Wellington this season – when Deans accused his side of "giving up" – and now the worst loss in decades, against Scotland at Murrayfield last Sunday.

A victory against Wales at Millennium Stadium this weekend is imperative to demonstrate that Deans' adventurous youth policy is the right approach. Another test loss this weekend would put him under even greater scrutiny.

Following the Wallabies' loss to Scotland – the first in 27 years and 17 encounters – ARU chief executive John O'Neill said there would be a "thorough review" after this tour to work out what improvements had to be made to ensure the Wallabies became a winning unit again.

O'Neill is one of Deans' biggest supporters and believes the crux of the problem is with the players, particularly their inability to back up for consecutive tests. O'Neill knows Deans' options are limited due to the lack of depth in many positions in Australian rugby, which gives the coach no option but to continue selecting out-of-form and unworthy test players.

But while Deans has been applauded for gambling on youth, he knows that with just 14 wins and a draw from 27 tests – including only two victories from his past 10 internationals – he is not out of the firing line. The ARU season review will scrutinise all areas of the test preparation and O'Neill said it would be "really confrontational with every aspect of team Wallaby".

This may result in a revamp of Deans' backup staff, while the form and attitude of some players will be closely examined. The relationship between Deans and the players is also bound to be assessed, especially as player power has been a critical factor in the rise and fall of Wallabies coaches in the past.

The most dramatic example of this involved Greg Smith, who lost the support of the senior player group in 1997, which was instrumental in him losing the position after a dreadful performance in Pretoria when the Wallabies lost 61-22, a record margin at the time.

On the flight home to Australia, a distressed Smith attempted to lobby players in a bid to hold onto his position, until he was stopped by ARU officials. Within a few days, Smith was gone. It also took some time for Rod Macqueen to gain the player respect before the 1999 World Cup triumph.

Now the relationship Deans has with several senior Wallabies will be critical in ensuring that the World Cup campaign gets back on track next season.

On this tour, Deans has worked hard to improve his relationship with first five-eighth Matt Giteau. After Berrick Barnes left the tour through injury the relationship between Deans and Giteau improved. Deans has often consulted Giteau over the past month.

But now Giteau's erratic form has become an issue. Against Ireland, he missed several key penalty kicks and against Scotland, Giteau had a poor game, culminating in the test being lost when he missed a conversion after the siren.

Earlier, Deans said he was in the unenviable position of being unable to make widespread changes, because "the reality is that there's no-one out there". He explained: "The best players are here."

In Cardiff, the mood of the coach was as gloomy as the weather. At least Deans was backed by his captain, Rocky Elsom, who was similarly at a loss to explain why the Wallabies keep embarrassing themselves.

"I'm struggling to put my finger on what the problem is," Elsom said.

- © Fairfax NZ News