How can Deans turn things around?

Well Deans and no doubt the Australian players will be glad to see their remaining games don't include the ABs. Deans must realise that his job is in peril and so needs to turn around his team's fortunes in a hurry. Lose the next game at SA at home and you'd feel it doesn't matter really what happens against Argentina or SA away.

Against the ABs, Deans placed his faith in his selections to deal with the AB attack. He went for a defensive team and in a way he succeeded in containing the AB attack. But often when your gameplan is defensively minded it reflects on your attack. When the Wallabies did get ball after long periods of defending they seemed all too eager to kick it aimlessly back and start defending again. The AB stats that stand out is the number of offloads they made. Sure a lot of them went to ground but when you're tackling and the ball is made available to another player that's extra effort you have to put into defending. You repeat that process countless times and you use up an enormous amount of energy on defence, leaving you less energy for attack. SA and Argentina aren't as proficient in this area (even though the ABs were far from accurate and too often failed to provide sustained pressure) so at least Australia will be able to conserve more energy for attack.

Things weren't helped by the selections. SBW and Nonu aren't an effective centre partnership. It needed someone savvy in there to exploit that area. Deans missed a trick putting AAC on the wing and at fullback. Sure injuries played a part in that thinking but when you're looking for points of attack and potential holes, there was one waving its arms about before the match. Barnes at 10 or 12 is really the same problem. He's contracted a Waratahs illness that afflicts a player and sees them take possession and find ways to get rid of it as soon as possible. On attack he isn't comfortable standing flat in the line. Again injuries have caused these selection headaches but on the strength of these two games his place surely deserves to be taken by another. I'm not a fan of Faia'anga but at least he has a combination with Cooper and he doesn't want to boot the ball away all the time.

The use of the bench is also a problem for Deans. Just over half time he takes Higganbotham out and puts in Samo. Okay he needed to bring spark into the game. But what was Dennis still doing on the field? Put Higganbotham at 6 where he plays best and get Dennis off. Injuries are certainly a key problem for Australia all over the park but sometimes it's better to admit you got your selections wrong than to keep a player on the field who isn't doing things well.

When points are available, particularly out in front of the posts, for goodness take them. Australia had 3 points available to them. Sure they were 22 points down but seeing three points to your name instead of 0 means a lot psychologically. There was 30 minutes still left on the clock. In the first test, Beale took a quick tap right out in front and 3 points in that game would've meant a lot. If you have a chance to score and tick the scoreboard over, then you take it!

The key for Australia now is their attitude. Defence can keep you in games but you must have attack to win them. That doesn't mean all out attack spreading the ball out wide. Attack means also in the forwards and getting over the advantage line. Australia set up a nice rolling maul in the second half for example only for Genia to take his eye off the ball and Read was able to snap up the ball and snuff out a dangerous Australian attack. Australia need continuity in possession and quicker ball. Far too much possession came from static ball and the defensive line was up quickly and then of course the temptation to kick ball away becomes greater. But patience is required and ball retention is vital.

SA will be stung by the result of last week so they will be fired up. But Australia to me has a bigger advantage of saying goodbye to their black mental demons and concentrating on teams they have beaten with more frequency. They've admitted the number one ranking is beyond them but now they want to keep their number two ranking. That can only come about if they take the game to their opponents and improve their attack. Sure their defence is good and that can keep you in a game. But I haven't seen such a toothless Aussie attack and was surprised at how frequently they gave away ball just when the situation cried out for them to hold onto the ball and build some pressure.

So a lot to play for in two weeks in Perth. It's not the best fortress at Australia's disposal but it'll have to do. Sometimes when the pressure is on, there is a tendency to go into your shell and dig out a victory. That to me though is the worst thing Australia can do. They need to take the game to SA on all fronts. They've had cruel luck with injuries but SA have their own problems on that front. There can be no excuses. The Wallabies are way better than their bumbling performances against NZ. They need to show that. Not to save Dean's job. But to save their reputation. They got a well earned series win against Wales. Their stock is rapidly plummeting. The rot must stop. An end of year tour up north and teams are starting to lick their lips in anticipation. That cannot be from a team ranked second in the world.

Its all been doom and goom from the start for Deans this year other than snaring the welsh tour.
I was critical of the stars of the side playing for the lesser sxv sides beginning of the year as I thought it would have two side effects. One was the higher risk of injury to players like joc and beale in that they aren't used to losing and would therefore put a huge effort defensively. One match I recall seeing JOC making tackle after tackle all match, only to find himself repeatedly standing behind the posts for the conversion.

Sure enough, injury prevailed. Had he been playing for a more competitive side the defemsive demands would have been shared more across other players.

All this losing also had an impact on the general swagger and confidence of the elite few gamebreakers oz have.

So the general all round failures of the sxv sides contributed to the makeup of this oz side,
particularly those of the tahs side.

Injuries have also not helped and have further exposed the abcess below- lack of deprh in general.

In this regard, deans is out of his depth. As a coach of the saders and ABs he was used to having players on tap.

In watching him get off the bus before the match and the pre match interviw he had 'loser' written all over him I have to say.

Its time to go. Oz need an oz coach who's familiar with the greater issues in oz rugby.

Playing in Perth for the boks is almost a home ground with all the saffas there.

Not sure what Deans can do now, this season he seems to have snuffed out the Wallabies attacking instinct, sure injuries have taken its toll, but I said when watching the Scottish and Welsh game it does seem the half backs were playing to instructions, in keeping it tight.

He needs to take the reins off the side and give it a bash in playing attack, what they're best at, imho

I think ultimately the answer is no. I'd say he's gone, probably at the end of the rugby championship. I think there are to many dissatisfied stakeholders. I wonder if there is a deeper issue. I wonder if there is a parallel with Auckland and the increasing competition from rugby league in Australasia.