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Redemption awaits Wallabies
From Iain Payten in Johannesburg
September 01, 2008
THEY went to Johannesburg to break a 45-year hoodoo but instead limped away with a 45-point thrashing and a humiliating new record.
But even in the wake of Australia's worst Test loss on Saturday night, coach Robbie Deans believes redemption might be just around the corner with a victory over New Zealand in the Tri-Nations decider on Saturday week.
The topsy-turvy season of Deans' Wallabies took a violent downswing, only seven days after claiming Australia's first Test victory in South Africa since 2000 in Durban.
As seen in the Wallabies' back-to-back clashes against New Zealand earlier in the tournament, Australia clocked off after achieving a significant win and in the unfriendly surrounds of Ellis Park were embarrassed by a rampant South Africa.
The Boks' eight-try rampage was the Wallabies' worst ever losing margin in Test rugby, overtaking the record set in 1997 when the Wallabies lost 61-22 to South Africa in Pretoria.
It was a dark afternoon for the Wallabies' golden new era but a composed Deans refused to let doom and gloom set in, saying if his men could hoist the Tri-Nations trophy in Brisbane on September 13 then the season would go down as a success.
Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23217,00.html