Deans chase should be over
Why wasn’t Robbie Deans signed by Australian rugby three months ago?
In the residue of the Wallabies early exit form the World Cup, (note the lack of the term ‘shock’ in that sentence), the chase will begin in earnest for fabled Canterbury Crusaders coach Robbie Deans.
Well, not quite ‘begin’. The ARU had meetings with him three months ago. So many meetings at rugby HQ in fact, one insider said “he might as well live here”.
Now, there’s the problem of the All Blacks. They didn’t win the world cup either, so if previous form is a factor, goodbye Graham Henry.
The ARU will apparently throw a pile at cash at Deans, although it would seem no level of currency could outweigh the All Blacks gig for a New Zealander.
The ironic thing is ARU chief John O’Neill was part of the grab and dash mission to snare Guus Hiddink to the Socceroos. While it didn’t happen overnight while the process ran its course, the Football Federation knew who it wanted and went hard.
Rugby’s search for Mr. Right has cascaded for months, with a six man shortlist the best it can boast.
And don’t go blaming the lacklustre management who preceded O’Neill. He took over in June, with those meetings with Deans happening shortly after.
So, what has changed between then and now? Deans isn’t a better coach than he was in the winter. He had four Super 12/14 titles then, as he does now. John Connolly was always going away after this tournament, so the seat needed to be filled. If Deans is worth saturating in dollar bills today, why not three months ago, when there was no competition?
The 2007 World Cup debacle might have been the product of a poor talent poor and a previous leadership that had no direction, but this current lot only has itself to blame for this latest debacle.
Subscribe to The Serve by Email
No comments yet.