No stone unturned to revive Wallabies







Australian Rugby Union boss John O’Neill has admitted the Wallabies arenot yet prepared for the World Cup. Picture: Peter Wallis Source: The Australian



AUSTRALIAN Rugby Union boss John O'Neill admitted yesterday the Wallabies are not where they need to be 15 months out from the World Cup.

The Wallabies might have finished the June inbound Tests with three wins out of four, losing only by a point to England in Sydney, but aside from the Perth Test against Martin Johnson's side, they failed to show any evidence of being serious contenders in the Tri-Nations tournament starting next month.
"We are not where we should be," O'Neill said yesterday. "Perth was really positive but you would have to say that last week against England and last night against Ireland were backward steps.
"Our expectations and those of the players and coaching staff and the ARU board and the management staff are that we should be much further advanced than we are and far more consistent. We should be able to produce week in, week out, high-intensity rugby."


O'Neill admitted he found it hard to disagree with an Irish Rugby Football Union official who remarked to him after the Wallabies' 22-17 Lansdowne Cup victory on Saturday night, "We were very poor and you were poor".
O'Neill would not entertain suggestions that head coach Robbie Deans's position was under threat or being reviewed.
"Robbie is under contract and we are in this together," he said.
But O'Neill conceded that the Wallabies' win-loss record - which now stands at 18 wins, 13 losses and a draw under Deans - was critically important.
"This is a business where you can't hide. At the end of the day we're like the Australian cricket team and the Socceroos, the national team is the barometer of the sport," he said.
"We've got to be obsessed with winning and we've especially got to be obsessive about winning against the All Blacks. Because if you beat the All Blacks on a consistent basis, chances are you will be number one in the world."
Yet, according to Warren Gatland, coach of the Wales side that pushed New Zealand all the way before losing 29-10 in Hamilton on Saturday, the All Blacks are no better than second favourite for the Tri-Nations.
"You've got to put South Africa as favourite," said Gatland, who did not even mention the Wallabies.
Nor would he on the way the Australian side has played so far this season and, while Deans is not in danger at present, that situation could well change if the Wallabies have a repeat of their 2009 Tri-Nations, in which they won only one Test out of six.
If the ARU decided Deans was not working as coach, the change would need to be made before the spring tour.
That would give his replacement - almost certainly Reds coach Ewen McKenzie - just the northern hemisphere campaign plus the four Tests in next year's scaled-down Tri-Nations to put his stamp on the team.
But that is not a change anyone in the ARU is contemplating and indeed O'Neill seems intent on shoring up Deans's position by offering additional resources.
"We will leave no stone unturned," he said. "If a kicking coach is what we need, let's do it. Whatever it takes."
Western Force kicking coach Daryl Halligan and former NRL goalkicking legend Hazem El Masri are two options.
Deans said yesterday Giteau, who has kicked only six goals from 11 attempts over the past two weeks, was experienced enough to sort out any technical problems by himself.
"He's going through a speedbump at the moment, there's no doubt about that. But he has allowed it to affect his mental processes and that happens to even the best," Deans said. "The point is the player has to own the solution. At the end of the day, he is the one that has to master it."


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