Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says poor showing by Australian Super Rugby teams has si
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says poor showing by Australian Super Rugby teams has silver lining
By Iain Payten
The chance to put Wallabies stars through a "mini pre-season" ahead of the first Bledisloe Cup game is the silver lining to Australian sides crashing out of the Super Rugby finals, according to Robbie Deans.
n unconcerned Deans also dismissed criticism about the Australian conference being weak, saying correlation between Super Rugby strength and Test success was historically "erratic".
As South African and New Zealand teams battle out the last fortnight of Super Rugby, the Wallabies began the first of two three-day camps in Sydney on Tuesday.
Though he'd originally hoped to be without the players of one or two Australian sides, Deans said having a full complement of players for a long training block could be equally advantageous.
Ahead of the Wallabies' first game against New Zealand on August 18, the camps - this week and next - will be used to load up on conditioning, polish combinations and focus on strategy to beat the All Blacks.
"It is a bit of a quid pro quo really," Deans said.
"It would be good to have the experience of play-off rugby but we've now got the opportunity to put that extra week to good use.
"There is an opportunity now as a group to get a prep that may have been compromised if we'd gone the distance, as we've seen in recent times. There is value in both (paths).
"Those that go through and succeed will take some momentum out of that, and some belief and confidence. Those that don't, which is us in this instance, we have to put this time to good use."
The Wallabies' twice-daily field sessions will be supplemented by gym sessions and analysis work.
"It's like a mini pre-season, for some," Deans said. "They're going to work."
As far as omens go, having no finalists isn't all bad. The last time Australia had no teams in the play-offs was 1998, and the Wallabies went on to win the Bledisloe Cup series 3-0. The trophy stayed in Aussie hands until 2003 but the Kiwis have held it since.
As much as play-offs momentum and belief would have helped in the first Bledisloe Cup clash, Deans said ample time to prepare was also valuable. He pointed out Queensland Reds' title win last year was followed by a Walllabies' loss to Samoa eight days later due to a "compromised" preparation.
New Zealand will have two weeks preparation after the August 4 final, however.
The Wallabies coach also dismissed the "annual discussion" about Super Rugby conference strengths. Australia's conference has been bagged as weak after a poor 2012 competition but Deans said collective Super Rugby strength didn't always equal Test success.
"History has been pretty erratic. There is probably no one consistent trend," he said.
Queensland players were rested for this week's first camp but will join the team next week. The only players certain to miss the first Bledisloe Cup game are James Horwill and James O'Connor.
This is more the sort of report we need to be reading
