Bret Harris | July 15, 2009

Article from: The Australian

IT was appropriate that Robbie Deans announced his Wallabies team to play the All Blacks on Bastille Day because the motto of the French revolution -- liberty, equality, fraternity -- could be the catch-cry for the new culture in Australian rugby.

For many years Australia's play has been dominated by a controlled, patterned approach.

Deans has given the Wallabies a new sense of freedom.

On his very first day in charge of the Wallabies in June last year, Deans told the players to play what was in front of them.

It has become a mantra that has pervaded every aspect of Australia's game.
Sure, the Wallabies have an overall strategy and specific tactics, but there is freedom to deviate from the script to take advantage of opportunities.

The Wallabies do not just apply the philosophy to their attack, but also to their defence. Props even talk about playing what is in front of you in the scrum.

After a year and a bit under Deans, the Wallabies would be acutely aware that he treats all of the players equally.

There are no stars in teams coached by Deans. This was evident when the coach was prepared to omit Australia's highest-profile player, Lote Tuqiri, from the Test 22-man squad, before his sacking by the ARU for a breach of protocol.

It does not matter if you are a teenage rookie such as James O'Connor or a veteran such as Phil Waugh. If you are good enough, and if you work hard enough, you will get an opportunity. It is then up to the player to handle that opportunity.
Deans does not tolerate selfishness. Players who only care for themselves do not last long.

Even at the Crusaders, who boasted arguably the two best players in the world, Dan Carter and Richie McCaw, the team ethos meant everything.

Deans creates a sense of brotherhood, or fraternity, in his teams.

He says that a team's culture is measured by how much the players will play for each other.

In a physically dangerous game like rugby, it is important to know you can rely on the bloke next to you in a crisis. The Crusaders culture was not created in one year and it will take time for the Wallabies to develop their own way of doing things.

"The culture is the group's. It's not ours. It's theirs," Deans said.

"On and off the field we are treading pretty well, I believe.

"It's a work in progress. You never arrive. As soon as you think you have you are in trouble."

Wallabies skills coach Richard Graham revealed another element of the new Wallabies culture -- in French revolutionary speak, sans demi-mesure.

It is the preparedness of the Wallabies to push themselves beyond their boundaries.

"As Robbie talked about cultural shift, the players have really bought into no limits," Graham said. "Post-training, their willingness to improve their own skills.

"That's been a good shift in habit. That's from (Luke) Burgess with his passing to (Adam) Ashley-Cooper with his kicking."

The Deans revolution has really only just begun, but it will result in a team of players who are regarded equally, playing with a sense of freedom, for each other and with each other.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html