As sweet as it was to see the All Blacks go down to France at the Rugby World Cup there would only be one thing sweeter; for the coach that the All Blacks rejected guiding their arch enemy the Wallabies to victory in a World Cup in New Zealand.
That possibility is very real, and will only happen if a number of planets align.
The first planets already have aligned. The next World Cup is in New Zealand and Robbie Deans was rejected by the NZRFU in favour of Graham Henry, a coach with a record at international level of success followed by abject failure (Wales, 11 consecutive victories followed by record defeat to Ireland; and the recent All Blacks winning 42 out of 48 and 19 out of their last 20 matches before their worst ever performance at a World Cup) or outright failure (British Lions losing a series to the Wallabies for the first time).
That the NZRFU re-hired Henry could go down as the greatest balls up in New Zealand Rugby history since Henry rested most of the All Blacks during the first half of the Super 14 before rotating his squad to ensure no players had enough game time in the lead up to the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Robbie Deans, bitter, twisted and humiliated at his treatment by the NZRFU is seeking revenge, and how better to do that than by coaching the Wallabies to Bledisloe and World Cup glory.
The next coach of the Wallabies should be not only the best coach available but the most motivated coach available. For all of Alan Jones’ and Ewen McKenzie’s bleatings about a fresh crop of passionate youngsters ready to exploit new rules and inspire a running game that harks back to earlier triumphant eras, Robbie Deans has a much more recent history of triumph and inspiring players to run or play tough when needed. And best of all he’s motivated by revenge, a dish best served cold – and it’s very cold in New Zealand in winter.
That possibility is very real, and will only happen if a number of planets align.
The first planets already have aligned. The next World Cup is in New Zealand and Robbie Deans was rejected by the NZRFU in favour of Graham Henry, a coach with a record at international level of success followed by abject failure (Wales, 11 consecutive victories followed by record defeat to Ireland; and the recent All Blacks winning 42 out of 48 and 19 out of their last 20 matches before their worst ever performance at a World Cup) or outright failure (British Lions losing a series to the Wallabies for the first time).
That the NZRFU re-hired Henry could go down as the greatest balls up in New Zealand Rugby history since Henry rested most of the All Blacks during the first half of the Super 14 before rotating his squad to ensure no players had enough game time in the lead up to the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Robbie Deans, bitter, twisted and humiliated at his treatment by the NZRFU is seeking revenge, and how better to do that than by coaching the Wallabies to Bledisloe and World Cup glory.
The next coach of the Wallabies should be not only the best coach available but the most motivated coach available. For all of Alan Jones’ and Ewen McKenzie’s bleatings about a fresh crop of passionate youngsters ready to exploit new rules and inspire a running game that harks back to earlier triumphant eras, Robbie Deans has a much more recent history of triumph and inspiring players to run or play tough when needed. And best of all he’s motivated by revenge, a dish best served cold – and it’s very cold in New Zealand in winter.
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