Deans Aussie coach till 2011

[pieter blackie]

Sydney - Robbie Deans will be Australia rugby coach until the 2011 World Cup, despite the Wallabies winning just six of 14 Tests last year.

Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill said on Monday the ARU board had guaranteed the New Zealander's tenure through to the next World Cup after listening to a review of 2009 by Deans and the ARU's high performance manager David Nucifora.

"The board were very comfortable and confirmed Robbie in his position through to the World Cup in 2011," O'Neill said.

He said there would be no changes to Deans' assistant coaching lineup. He said former Brumbies and Blues coach Nucifora would be more available and would help assistant coach Jim Williams in the lineout and breakdown areas.

Deans had a successful career as coach of New Zealand's Crusaders in Super rugby and as an assistant coach with the All Blacks. He was appointed to lead the Wallabies in 2008 in an original contract running through to the World Cup in New Zealand next year.

http://www.sport24.co.za/Content/Rug...oach_till_2011

[jono]

so basically. nothing changed?
or the ARU cant afford to pay him out.

either way thats a bit of a pointless article.
the arguments and direction presented at the review would have been good. so we have an idea how robbie is going to turn this year around from last year.

[TOCC]

i tend to remember something about the wallaby performances been evaluated at the end of each season, coach been a major factor

[jono]

yeah, we know that there is an internal review at the end of every international season. a good concept actually.

but if they wanted to get rid of him they would have had to pay him out of his contract.
perticularly in the second paragraph they make it seem like his contract was extended...

[GIGS20]

but if they wanted to get rid of him they would have had to pay him out of his contract.

Not necessarily, any contract worth it's salt these days includes the relevant KPIs to ensure the job is done to a satisfactory standard. If Deans is hitting his KPIs, he's safe, if he's not he's gone.......the problem comes when the KPIs are being met, but the overall performance isn't satisfactory (coaching professional teams is the best opportunity for this to occur) that's when you need to pay out a contract to sack somebody. This would be Deans' second review, so he would have been given a list of things to address in this year, which would have had some negotiation I guess (no point in asking him to win every match they play after last year....simply impossible) and I guess he's addressed them. He will have a new list of things to address and the next review will evaluate his efficiency in addressing them.....standard contract review/Performance Management stuff!

[Burgs]

I think some of the trouble is that Joe Public Australia has had a taste of the Wallabies being successful (RWCs, 3N etc) and then that becomes the new bar.
The reality is that by being in the 3N we are continually playing the long term best two teams in the world so it is only by playing other countries that Deans can possibly get better than a 50% record.
Then factor in Spring Tours having become about "blooding" new talent and having reduced available premier players due to injury, retirement and Superannuation Leagues, then those matches suddenly become much more even as well, as seen this last tour. Likewise, we don't alwayss get the best of the NH coming down before the 3N to stretch us.
On this front, I think the inclusion of Argentina will be good for Australia as they will get to play another full strength country while they are peaking in the "3N".
It is a healthy thing to always want you country to win every match but perhaps not so healthy to expect them to win every match.

[mudskipper]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225823431399

Nucifora to add his nous to Wallabies

Bret Harris From: The Australian January 26, 2010 12:00AM

WALLABIES coach Robbie Deans will delegate more responsibility to his assistants with ARU high-performance manager David Nucifora seconded to help coach the forwards following a review of the team's up-and-down performance last year.

The Australian predicted Nucifora would become involved in coaching the Wallabies following the upset loss to Scotland on the tour of Britain and Ireland last November when the team failed to achieve a grand slam.

While Nucifora, a former Super rugby title-winning coach with the Brumbies, will not have an official position on the Wallabies' coaching staff, he will assist forwards coach Jim Williams with the lineout and breakdown work.

The scrum has continued to improve under the guidance of former Argentine Pumas and Wallabies prop Patricio Noriega, but the lineout has struggled at times.

"David Nucifora, he won't be moving into a coaching role with the Wallabies, but he will be used by Robbie and Jim with the forwards," ARU chief executive John O'Neill said.

"David is also coaching the Australian under-20s and likes to keep his coaching ticket current."

Nucifora's experience will boost the coaching staff, which will be used more after the review found that Deans was carrying a heavy workload.

Deans has assumed multiple coaching responsibilities, including the backs, defence and kicking, but Williams and skills coach Richard Graham will be given more to do to take the pressure off him.

"Robbie has taken on an enormous workload himself and there is room to delegate more of that workload to Jim and Richard," O'Neill said. "That's more a transitional issue.

"Robbie came in in the middle of 2008 sight unseen and besides being head coach he was coaching the backs and he was coaching the defence as well.

"Michael Foley (former forwards coach) moved on and Jim Williams came in and Richard Graham came in.

"Everyone now has a better level of comfort as to who can do what. So there's a delegation issue.

"We really think that with Robbie as head coach, Jim, Richard and David being used . . . it's really giving Jim and Richard a bit more depth and breadth to their roles.

"Patricio Noriega has been a breath of fresh air. Very happy with the work he is doing on the scrum."

The ARU board confirmed Deans would continue to coach the Wallabies until the World Cup in New Zealand next year after two seasons of inconsistent, yet promising, results.

But O'Neill was optimistic the Wallabies would turn the corner this year and create a new golden era to rival Rod Macqueen's 1999 World Cup-winning team.

"I think we've seen over the last two years since Robbie Deans started that directionally we are in reasonable shape," O'Neill said.

"It hasn't necessarily translated on to the scoreboard, but I was quite taken aback after the win against Wales (in Cardiff). I was in Dublin for an IRB meeting and the number of northern hemisphere representatives who said the way we played in that first 25 to 30 minutes against Wales, we could be the team to beat in the World Cup.

"We were so near on so many occasions last year that that indefinable notion of confidence is just about there.

"We are seeing depth. We are seeing more competition for spots. Deans' philosophy is really taking hold.

"I'm an optimist. I just think we have the cattle, we have the players, we have the coach, we have the right outlook. The next two years could be very good for us.

"You look at our glory days. No complacency. Good behaviour on and off the field. Absolute composure. Absolute belief in themselves. And very good rugby players.

"I can see among this group all of those ingredients.

"We are seeing some blokes coming through who have all the makings of creating another golden era."

[Burgs]

Hope he stays away from the Scrum...

[TOCC]

yeah, we know that there is an internal review at the end of every international season. a good concept actually.

but if they wanted to get rid of him they would have had to pay him out of his contract.
perticularly in the second paragraph they make it seem like his contract was extended...

the ARU probably had a clause to get out of the contract at 2 years, who cares really

[mudskipper]

Is JON is positioning Nurifora as a back up coach in case Deano is pushed? that would suck b=g time rugby fans

[welshrugbyfan]

Or it's a ploy for NZ to win the world cup at home after choking so many times in the past.

McCaw holds up the trophy and Aussie Bob pulls out the Punk'd sign with Ashton Kutcher running around in the background.