Deans: The quickest route to the airport
Australia may have won four of their last five Tests against South Africa, but Wallaby coach Robbie Deans insisted those results were “irrelevant” going into their World Cup quarterfinal showdown in Wellington on Sunday.
Deans has previous coaching at experience at the tournament, having been the coaching co-ordinator of an All Black side that finished third in 2003 – New Zealand’s best World Cup return since the All Blacks were beaten in the 1995 Final.
“All that matters is Sunday,” the former All Black said. “The winner goes on, the loser goes home.
“Taking comfort from previous games is the quickest path way to the airport!
“The knock-out phases of the World Cup are completely different to every other type of rugby we play: the stakes are higher, the intensity greater and the margins between success and failure smaller.
“We’ve seen that to some extent already in the tournament through the key pool matches and you can pretty much guarantee that it will all only intensify from here.”
Deans added: “South Africa still has the core group from the last World Cup together. They know what it takes to be successful in knock-out rugby and know how to close out the tight games.
“They’ve already shown that in this tournament when they came from behind to beat Wales by a point [17-16].
“They have a group which has the knowledge and belief that it can get things done. They will bring that mentality forward with them on Sunday. If we are going to earn the right to advance to the next round, we have to match it.”
