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Deans' big night out in Sydney
6th February 2008, 11:00 WST
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=13
Robbie Deans would doubtless love to have three sets of eyes at Thursday night's Super 14 trial match at the Sydney Football Stadium.
One set to keep tabs on his Crusaders, another to assess the form of Wallabies hopefuls in the NSW line-up and a pair fixed firmly on classy Waratahs recruit Timana Tahu.
Having expressed his preference to fill his team sheets with "tough" and "talented" characters, new Wallabies coach Deans will be keenly interested in Tahu's progress in the lead-up to the first Test of 2008 against Ireland in June.
Deans is a big fan of Tahu, but says the former Newcastle, Parramatta, NSW and Australian rugby league star will need to prove himself in the 15-man code before being sized up for the Wallabies.
A potent attacker with a tryscoring strike rate to envy, 27-year-old Tahu is at the peak of his powers - yet still only two games into his professional rugby career.
And Deans says the switch from league to union shouldn't be underestimated.
"It's a tough transition to make," he said.
"I've got an open mind to any end, but it's a very tough thing to do and I think we've seen that in the past.
"But it's been done, and Timana Tahu's got that opportunity now. He's a hugely talented player.
"But (Waratahs coach) Ewen (McKenzie) is rapidly trying to temper expectations.
"And with good reason. Because while he's a talent, there are some significant challenges in going from a game which is essentially stop-start to a game which is continuous."
After impressing on debut against Queensland two weeks ago and then being well contained against the Brumbies, Tahu faces another challenge on Thursday night when he lines up at outside centre opposite former All Black Casey Laulala.
But if Tahu has his hands full, he only needs to spare a thought for Deans, who says loyalty to the cause left him with no alternative than to stick with the Crusaders this season while plotting the Wallabies' future course.
"That was always going to be one of the first challenges. People have often said to me: 'Why would you carry on doing the Crusaders?'," Deans said.
"But that's just my way, I guess. And regardless of where I finished up, whether it was here (in Australia) or (with) the All Blacks, that was always going to be the case.
"But I don't see it as a big deal."
Deans said he gave no consideration to taking a break before officially taking charge of the Wallabies on June 1.
"Sometimes you can sit around too much," said the former All Blacks assistant coach.
"It's good to be involved in the game. That's one of the challenges at international level in my previous experience and in talking to some of the international coaches.
"The game keeps evolving and, particularly with the ELVs (Experimental Law Variations). I was very keen to get this experience, just to stay current, because I wasn't quite sure how that was going to manifest itself.
"It's a bit of a moving target from all accounts. Whether they'll be relevant or not.
"But, yeah, it would have been a long gap since I last coached if I'd opted out."
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