Deans scoffs at talk of All Blacks losing their lustre

By DUNCAN JOHNSTONE in Sydney - RugbyHeaven | Friday, 25 July 2008

Robbie Deans and his players aren't buying into suggestions from former Wallabies that the All Blacks have lost their aura. The new Australian coach emphasised that New Zealand continued to be the benchmark in international rugby and they held a position that his side could only aspire to in Saturday night's Bledisloe Cup test.

Over the past week Wallabies legends Tim Horan, John Eales, Nick Farr-Jones and David Campese have all suggested the All Blacks' aura of invincibility is a thing of the past, igniting emotions ahead of the big showdown in Sydney.

Deans, a former All Blacks test player and assistant coach who now finds himself plotting the downfall of his homeland, said history suggested that if anything, the All Blacks had probably improved their remarkable record in recent times.

"It pertains to who you are talking to at the time. I guess it's easy from the other side of the chalk," said Deans on the eve of the match.

"But you only have to look at their performance history and you could argue that their performance history in recent times is superior to anything that's ever been.

"So it doesn't really matter. The only thing that matters from the perspective of these blokes is what happens on the day."

Deans said his team knew what was in front of them on Saturday night and that was a massive challenge that wouldn't be diminished by what past players were thinking or saying.

"These blokes are excited," he said of his new team. "I don't think they are daunted. I think they are genuinely excited. And you get genuinely excited when you anticipate a genuine challenge. There's no doubt that's what they are going into.

"They are up against one of the best if not the best rugby sides in the world. They are aware of that but that also excites them.

"And that's the challenge that they are looking forward to. They aspire to that (to be the best) and they get a great opportunity to stake a claim to that sort of respect."

Wallabies captain George Smith went along with that.

"I still think they are a formidable side," Smith said of the All Blacks who come to Sydney off a loss to the Springboks in Dunedin two weeks ago.

"They will be mentally refreshed and physically refreshed after their week off. We expect a very intense and physical game.

"It's a big game as it is always and you want to be part of these games. The Kiwis are always competitive and they seem to set the standard. We definitely look forward to it."

With four wins from as many games Deans has made a perfect start to his time across the Tasman.

The rapid progress hasn't surprised Deans because of the quality he has got to work with.

"These guys love what they do. They love to play. We don't tend to look at it from an outcome perspective. It's more about these guys enjoying what they do, dealing with challenges together and hopefully coping with those challenges."

But was he ahead of where he thought the team might be after a couple of months in charge?

"You always hope for the best but it doesn't pay to look ahead and chase something. You are better to deal in the moment of where you are at. You obviously have an idea in mind of where we want to get to but you have to live in the moment and respond to the moment."

And he was under no illusions that much better would be required to beat the All Blacks even after his side had risen to the challenge of downing the world champions Springboks last weekend in Perth.

"It wasn't a perfect performance last week and the All Blacks will have seen a lot of scope and opportunity and they will look to profit from that. And if they do that we will be deemed to be back behind peg one."

Deans anticipated a different sort of challenge from the All Blacks to the Springboks. This was particularly relevant to the breakdowns where the Boks had tried to intimidate with big hits.

"There will be more numbers in that area this week. It will be a big part of the game for sure."