James Horwill has replaced Rocky Elsom as the Wallabies’ captain as coach Robbie Deans sprang a major surprise announcing his World Cup squad.
Springboks "need to start playing some rugby" ahead of their defence of the World Cup, captain John Smit admitted after Australian loss.
Lock Dan Vickerman wants to repay the faith shown in him by Wallabies coach Robbie Deans as he pushes for a place in Australia’s World Cup squad.
Queensland Reds coach Ewen McKenzie refuses to get carried away with his team’s start to the season despite recording a fifth successive win.
Australia coach Robbie Deans has made three changes for the Tri-Nations rematch against the All Blacks in Christchurch on Saturday.
Robbie Deans has praised the officiating in the early rounds of the Super 14, saying that rewarding attack had helped the competition.
The last season of Super 14 in its current format kicks off on Friday with the Crusaders and the Bulls once again the teams to beat.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney said on Friday he is wary of the wounded Wallabies ahead of their grand slam tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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/ 17 September 2009
The vitriol aimed at the All Blacks by their own supporters after they lost the Tri-Nations rugby crown to South Africa has the Wallabies on edge.
The Wallabies were their own worst enemies and played ”brain dead” in their Tri-Nations’ loss to the All Blacks, the Australian media said on Monday.
International rugby is a poor spectacle and needs more emphasis on running the ball rather than kicking, All Blacks’ coach Graham Henry said on Friday
Agreement on the most contentious of rugby’s experimental laws is close and will produce the ”perfect game”, says Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
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/ 24 November 2008
The Wallabies have dodged the guillotine in winning their first rugby international in France in eight years.
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/ 1 September 2008
A week after hailing a new era for the Wallabies, Australian newspapers were wondering how that same side would rebound from a record 53-8 loss to SA.
Prop Tony Woodcock scored two tries as an invigorated New Zealand beat Australia 39-10 in a Tri-Nations rugby Test on Saturday.
Injuries have forced the All Blacks to cobble together a makeshift backline for this weekend’s crucial rematch against the Wallabies.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans believes the crop of newcomers in his team is a prime reason why they savoured an emphatic victory over New Zealand.
It’s a match that has divided a nation and carries the hype of a boxing contest, with Robbie Deans in the gold corner and Graham Henry in the black.
The Boks’ triumph at the House of Pain was the best team performance since last year’s World Cup final but they must not let up the pressure.
Australian coach Robbie Deans has rushed back Lote Tuqiri, Wycliff Palu and Nathan Sharpe from injury for Saturday’s Tri-Nations rugby Test in Perth.
Australia coach Robbie Deans admitted on Wednesday that the Wallabies were struggling to adapt to ”old” rugby rules as they prepare to face
France.
Australia beat Ireland 18-12 to give their new coach Robbie Deans a winning start in an entertaining Test match on Saturday.
The Canterbury Crusaders won the Super 14 title on Saturday with a 20-12 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs in Christchurch, New Zealand. Trailing by a point at half-time, the Crusaders stormed home on the boot of All Black flyhalf Dan Carter, who kicked four penalties and a drop goal for a personal tally of 15 points.
The nature of Test rugby is that it tends to run in four-year cycles, centred on the mammoth spectacle of the World Cup. The Springboks face the next three-and-a-half years as World Cup defending champions, a lofty pedestal that has proven very difficult to defend in the past.
The Crusaders and Waratahs face off in a classic showdown for the Super 14 rugby crown in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Saturday. ”It’s going to be an epic,” said Crusaders coach Robbie Deans, the most successful coach in the history of Super rugby. In a match laden with All Blacks and Wallabies, Waratahs assistant coach Steve Tuynman sees the final as one for the purists.
All Black scrumhalf Andy Ellis says the Crusaders don’t need any external motivation to lift their weary bodies for the Super 14 rugby final against the New South Wales Waratahs in Christchurch on Saturday. ”In finals week, there’s no problem in picking it up and getting excited,” Ellis explained.
Ewen McKenzie rates Saturday’s Super 14 rugby final as the ultimate challenge as he pits his wits against the Canterbury Crusaders’ incoming Wallabies coach Robbie Deans. The NSW Waratahs coach has put behind a season of off-field turmoil to steer the Sydney team to their second Super rugby final.
The Canterbury Crusaders and New South Wales Waratahs won their way to rugby’s Super 14 final, creating an emotional showdown for retiring coaches Robbie Deans and Ewen McKenzie. Deans guided the Crusaders to a 33-22 win on Saturday over the Wellington Hurricanes, their 10th final in 13 years of Super tournament rugby — and Deans can now bow out with his fifth and their seventh championship title.
Canterbury Crusaders coach Robbie Deans has urged his weary players to stay on track for a seventh Super 14 rugby title when they play their semifinal on Saturday against the Wellington Hurricanes. The Crusaders have begun to look worn in recent weeks, but Deans hopes the onset of the play-offs will stimulate their fighting spirit in the match at Christchurch.
Injuries, coaching concerns and travel fatigue loom as significant factors in the Super 14 rugby semifinals when the Crusaders, Waratahs, Sharks and Hurricanes front up on Saturday. Competition leaders the Crusaders are at home to the Hurricanes in the first knock-out match, followed by the second-placed Waratahs hosting the Sharks in Sydney.
The Wellington Hurricanes and Auckland Blues kick off a climactic final Super 14 round on Friday in which six teams have a chance of joining the Canterbury Crusaders in the final four. The make-up of the semifinalists is unlikely to be decided until the final match of the weekend when the Sharks play the Chiefs.
The Canterbury Crusaders wrapped up top spot going into the Super 14 play-offs but the battle for the remaining three berths stayed wide open after the penultimate round over the weekend. With one game to play, six teams hold a mathematical chance of joining the Crusaders in the semifinals.