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Warren Gatland and Robbie Deans battle it out as Kiwis in exile
Nov 29 2008 by Gareth Griffiths, Western Mail
WHISPER this quietly, but there is a sub-plot to today’s game at the Millennium Stadium.
It could easily have been billed as the battle of the New Zealand coaches in waiting as Warren Gatland and Robbie Deans go head-to-head.
As Graham Henry kept his job despite New Zealand’s World Cup failure last year, the two highly-rated Kiwis put on hold any thoughts of their ultimate job and joined foreign nations at the end of last year.
Gatland made the well-worn 12,000-mile trip to Wales, following in the footsteps of Henry and Steve Hansen, while Deans bucked the trend by popping over the Tasman Sea to take charge of arch-rivals and today’s opponents Australia.
It could have been so different.
Deans, like Gatland, was right up at the top of the Welsh Rugby Union’s shortlist as they travelled Down Under to find a successor to Gareth Jenkins.
In going for Gatland, Wales clearly made the right choice and the softly-spoken New Zealander delivered a Grand Slam in his first year in charge.
But Deans also has impeccable coaching credentials.
After winning five caps for New Zealand as a full-back in 1983 and 1984, he became the most successful Super 14 coach in history by guiding the Crusaders to five titles.
Deans also got his grounding in international rugby, working as an assistant coach under John Mitchell between 2001 and 2003.
In the end, any talks with Deans proved academic. At the time, he still had ambitions of the New Zealand top job and was subsequently unsuccessfully interviewed for the post.
Deans recalled having a meeting with the WRU hierarchy, but becoming Wales boss never really seemed a viable proposition due to the timings and his southern hemisphere ambitions.
Gatland, another who was touted as New Zealand boss, ended up being unveiled as Wales coach instead, having impressed the WRU with his vision for the game over here.
Deans’ career path took him across the sea to take charge of the Wallabies, where he has been nicknamed Dingo Deans.
Today, the two men who have performed superb jobs in their first season in charge of their adopted countries go head-to-head in Cardiff.
Each have made significant strides, Gatland delivering the Grand Slam and Deans winning nine of his 13 Tests and finishing above world champions South Africa in the Tri-Nations table.
In the final Test match of 2008, their paths have crossed with personal pride as well as bragging rights at stake today.
Gatland said: “I know Robbie pretty well so we will each look forward to the game and have a beer afterwards.
“I haven’t been in charge of a side coached by Robbie, though I have been involved when the Chiefs have taken on the Crusaders.
“He’s done a great job and is one of the most successful coaches to come out of New Zealand.
“He has been a great acquisition for Australian rugby and is a big loss for New Zealand.
“You see this Australian side getting better and better over the next few years heading towards the World Cup.
“Robbie likes his sides to play really positive rugby and he likes players to have the opportunity to make decisions.”
As a Kiwi, Gatland has been brought up regarding the Australians as their fierce local rivals... a bit like us and England.
And the Wales coach has provided a fascinating insight into what he regards as the winning Australian sporting psyche.
“They are a funny lot the Aussies,” he said, “They always approach sport with a certain amount of confidence, whatever the game might be.
“They are probably the greatest over-achievers in world sport and that is meant as a compliment because they maximise what they have. You always see them vying for world titles and they are very self-confident.
“You also see them being critical of each other and that is why they are so successful.
“As a nation, they are analytical and they look at statistics and assess how to get the best out of the resources they have got.
“Their attention to detail is outstanding. They are a difficult side to beat because they don’t make many mistakes.”
Gatland, who has advocated reintroducing a fifth Welsh region, has pointed to the improvement in the Australian game since the introduction of the Western Force, an extra Super 14 team based in Perth.
“The decision to create the extra side with the Western Force has been an inspired one because it creates more depth,” he explained.
“You have seen them develop over the last few years from the situation they used to have when there were just the Queensland and New South Wales sides.
“These days, you have the Brumbies and the Western Force as well.”
This has helped the Australians begin to solve the achilles heel of their game, their forward pack and most notably their scrum.
This aspect of the Wallabies set-piece was once regarded as a joke, but the improvement has been notable, despite the penalty try they conceded against France last weekend.
“Australia have sometimes lacked the physical specimens of New Zealand and South Africa,” said Gatland.
“But Michael Foley has done a good job among the forwards and there has been a vast improvement in the last 18 months.
“They have become a well-respected pack, whereas in the past they might have not been considered one of their strengths.
“Conceding penalty tries is sometimes what can happen against France because they are strong in the scrum.
“But is one area the Australians have improved on in recent years.”
Gatland will be more concerned his own creaking Welsh scrum does not malfunction as it did against New Zealand last Saturday.
“We struggled, but we have worked on our timing this week and hopefully it is much better today. It is one area where we need to get some parity, or even dominance.”
Who will end up having the last laugh... Gatland or Deans?
http://www.walesonline.co.uk:80/rugb...1466-22365126/
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