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Pigheaded and proud of it
- BRET HARRIS
- From: The Australian
- September 04, 2010 12:00AM
But it is just as well Deans is as obstinate as he is because his firm adherence to his opinion has been one of the secrets of his success.
Dwyer lashed out at Deans this week over some of his selections for the Wallabies Test against the Springboks in Pretoria last Sunday and for not fully utilising his reserves bench in the 44-31 loss.
You could understand Dwyer's frustration after the Wallabies had lost yet another Test they could have won.
It was obvious to just about everyone that Deans had to clear his bench to provide the Wallabies with fresh legs in the lung-burning last 20 to 30 minutes of the game -- everyone but Deans.
Former Wallabies hooker Adam Freier, searching for an answer to explain the inexplicable, said this week that there must have been a method in Deans' madness. Freier got it right.
Modern rugby is often called a 22-man game with seven reserves to be utilised to cover injuries and tactical purposes.
But Deans does not subscribe to the view that reserves must be used simply because they are there. A fundamental tenet of Deans's coaching philosophy is his sense of team. He does not see a rugby team as 15 individuals, but as 15 parts of the one being.
That's why he is reluctant to make changes to the starting XV unless he has a good reason.
Some coaches make their substitutions by the clock, putting the same player on at the same time every week. Deans does not watch the scoreboard during a game. He watches the performance.
The Wallabies led 28-24 at half-time and were dominant in terms of possession and territory for most of the second half.
Even when the Springboks gained the lead, Deans would have been confident the Wallabies would still win.
In this scenario, Deans would be loath to make changes. Would you want to take off Will Genia, Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper for Luke Burgess, Berrick Barnes and Anthony Faingaa with the game on the line?
Deans remained faithful to the system that has been successful for him for the vast majority of his coaching career.
Having said that, Deans will know in his heart of hearts that he erred in not putting veteran hooker Stephen Moore on for Saia Faingaa, who struggled badly towards the end of the game.
Deans has tacitly acknowledged his mistake by recalling Moore to the starting line-up for his 50th Test against the Springboks in Bloemfontein tomorrow morning (AEST).
While Faingaa is "willing" as Deans likes to say, Moore is a superior scrummager, lineout thrower and ball-runner. He will make a difference. Deans finally lost patience with under-performing forwards Dean Mumm and Richard Brown, replacing them with Mark Chisholm and Ben McCalman.
But the only players in the team with the same "pig-headedness" as Deans in his single-minded determination to succeed are captain Rocky Elsom and openside flanker David Pocock.
It's time for some of the other players to become "bloody-minded". Deans may be under pressure, but the last thing he should do is lose faith in himself and his system. He's too stubborn!
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225914019434
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