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New Zealand's rugby press have joined many of their Australian colleagues in calling for the sacking of Wallabies coach Robbie Deans, with Sky commentator Tony Johnson proclaiming his compatriot a "dead man walking".
With the fallout from the Wallabies' limp display in Auckland set to continue over the coming days, we bring you a selection of feedback from across the Tasman.
Veteran New Zealand commentator Tony Johnson paid tribute to the Wallabies’ improved defensive effort but said Deans was now a shadow of his former self.
"They were lucky to get nil," Johnson wrote in his skysport.co.nz column.
"You’ve heard the expression before - I’m not sure if it can be applied to the Wallabies effort at Eden Park, but they were certainly lucky to escape with only 22 points against them.
"On at least four occasions the All Blacks had the ball on, over, or near the goal-line to spill it. On another day they could have scored 40.
"In coaching terms, Robbie Deans is a dead man walking. He will be lucky to last the next fortnight, let alone the rest of the year."
tvnz.co.nz sports writer Max Bania agreed Deans was on borrowed time but suggested he would be given until the conclusion of The Rugby Championship to turn things around.
“Famed for being a meticulous, well-prepared character who leaves nothing to chance, Robbie Deans has lived a charmed life for most of his tenure as Wallabies coach," Bania wrote.
"But surely now his luck - and his bosses' patience - has run out.
"Pencil in the clash with Argentina in Rosario on October 7 - a match that incredibly will see the Aussies start as underdogs - as the Cantabrian's potential last stand.”
http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/wa...-1226459158436
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