Outgoing coach: Wallabies can still win World Cup
His reign may have ended in bitter disappointment, but Robbie Deans still believes the Wallabies are capable of winning next year’s Rugby World Cup.
While the juiciest reviews of Deans’ five-year tenure chronicled in his autobiography, Red, Black & Gold, released on Thursday centred on his controversial sacking by the ARU, the New Zealander is philosophical about his time with the Wallabies.
And far from writing them off as a World Cup threat, he believes the Wallabies have the arsenal to upset the odds and lift the trophy in the UK under new coach Ewen McKenzie.
Even if that will almost certainly mean conquering the All Blacks, something that Deans’ Wallabies could only manage three times in 18 attempts and McKenzie’s charges have yet to achieve in five trans-Tasman showdowns.
“Absolutely it can be done,” Deans told AAP from Japan, where he’s coaching the Panasonic Wild Cats.
“We showed that anything’s possible.
“Ewen’s got a group now that’s a lot more experienced. There’s a lot more depth so they shouldn’t be as vulnerable to isolated events like injury and form.
“It can clearly be done and a World Cup context creates that possibility as well.”
Presiding over the youngest squad at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, Deans’ Wallabies came unstuck in the pool stages when Ireland capitalised on the absence of champion flanker David Pocock and hooker Stephen Moore to turn the tournament upside down.
The deflating loss left Australia facing the top-ranked hosts in the semi-finals instead of a widely predicted blockbuster final.
The All Blacks dominated in a 20-6 victory and, three years on, Deans remains adamant he never robbed his exciting Gen-Y side of their attacking instincts in a disappointing kick-happy defeat.
“The players had total licence (to play running rugby),” Deans recalled.
“It was more anxiety related. It was the reaction of young players under pressure.”
The writing was on the wall for the Wallabies when maligned playmaker Quade Cooper sent the ball sailing into touch with the opening kick-off to gift the All Blacks momentum which they refused to relinquish.
“You think that was part of the plan?” Deans said.
“Ultimately, whoever won the World Cup had to beat the All Blacks and we didn’t. We weren’t good enough.
“That was the youngest playing group at the World Cup at that time. Next year you can have a group that’s seasoned and you can have seasoned players in areas that are key, like front row.
“I think they’ve got a great opportunity.”
Although Deans, the Wallabies’ most-capped coach after 74 Tests in charge, departed disillusioned at being sacked after Australia’s 2-1 series loss to the touring British and Irish Lions last year, he doesn’t regret a thing.
He was criticised for not taking a specialist back-up to the World Cup for Pocock and paid the price when the Irish pack dominated without the classy No.7.
“You consider all the variables and you make a decision based on total information available at the time and you back it and you get on with it,” Deans said.
“Clearly if you knew that that decision was not going to achieve what you wanted and you had to capacity to change it before the event, you might consider something else.
“But that option’s not in our life yet.”