Robbie Brushes Up On His French

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday June 16, 2008

Greg Growden

Australia 18 Ireland 12

WALLABIES coach Robbie Deans will rely on his old Crusaders contacts to gain an insight into the touring French team in readiness for the Test in Sydney on June 28.

While the calibre of the Ireland side the Wallabies defeated in Melbourne on Saturday night was well known, the French, who will play two tests against Australia, are more of an unknown quantity. Marc Lievremont's side are in a transitional period and have included a host of lesser-known players.

But Deans will be ready for them, after consulting with his assistant coach, Jim Williams, who knows the strengths and weaknesses of all the French players through his recent work with Munster. Deans will also be in contact with his former Crusaders assistant coach, Vern Cotter, who is now with the Clermont club in France.

But Deans is already stressing that France will be just as tricky as the pugnacious Irish. "There is no such thing as a bad French side," Deans said yesterday.

Despite the uncertainty over their opponents, Deans will tell his players to stick to the philosophy instilled in them during the week leading up to the Ireland Test. They will be encouraged to continue trusting their instincts.

The Wallabies coach made a special point of discussing Berrick Barnes's crossfield kick in the second half, which ended up in Brian O'Driscoll's hands rather than the intended target of Stirling Mortlock, and almost led to an Irish try.

"What I did like was the preparedness of the guys to play, even the wide kick such as Berrick's," Deans said. "That's great. If we're not prepared to give things a go we won't succeed. You just cannot play conservatively at Test level and hope to achieve what we want to achieve."

This philosophy has extended to Deans telling attacking players - including senior winger Lote Tuqiri - to go on roving commissions. "I've given Lote licence to go looking," Deans said.

"I want him to get as many touches as possible because he's a bloke who has an impact on the game. The more confident our players become within our framework, the more scope that will give them to go looking and go seeking. Rather than the numbers on their backs being relevant, we're wanting everyone out there contributing."

Flair is one thing, but many Test matches are won by the grit of defence. That was certainly the case against Ireland, with the Wallabies' ability to cut off so much in midfield thwarting at least four or five excellent opposition try-scoring chances.

It takes a lot to impress the high-achieving Deans, but he was certainly impressed with the Wallabies' resistance.

"That was gutsy stuff," Deans said. "It may not have been clear on the television, but it was very slippery out there and that actually sucked a lot of energy out of their legs. That probably took its toll, moreso on us - because we haven't been playing Test rugby. We had a large number who hadn't played for a month, while Ireland were coming off a high-intensity Heineken Cup competition and two Tests.

"They were well conditioned, while our guys were clearly sucking air early. To get through that, there was some good defence. It did look tenuous at times, but that's the nature of Test rugby. It's never one way traffic."

The Wallabies were also able to adapt to Ireland being more expansive than usual. O'Driscoll, Ireland's captain, explained there was a simple reason for that. Playing the All Blacks in miserable Wellington the previous weekend had convinced them there was only one way to stay warm.

"It was literally a liability having the ball last week," O'Driscoll said. "It was a case of kick it, let the All Blacks have it, and we'll defend. But our mindset this week was different. We told ourselves we didn't want to play with any shackles. We wanted to finish the season off playing rugby."

They did, often brilliantly, but it wasn't quite enough.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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