/ 15 July 2008

Deans wary of rampant Boks

The Wallabies have been warned that despite South Africa enjoying their first win in New Zealand in 10 years, the Springboks will not be putting their feet up in the next Tri-Nations match in Perth on Saturday.

Despite the Springboks’ 30-28 triumph in Dunedin, which has relieved the pressure on the much-criticised new South African coach Peter de Villiers, his Australian counterpart Robbie Deans said on Monday they would be anything but complacent at the Subiaco Oval.

Asked if the Springboks may be happy with one away Tri-Nations victory after gruelling back-to-back Tests against the All Blacks, Deans seemed genuinely surprised.

”They’re desperate. They’re desperate every time they hit the ground. It’s been that way from the beginning of time.

”There is no chance of it happening with that experienced group of players.”

”If you had an inexperienced group, you might have been able to suggest that they may fluctuate, but experienced groups just get hungrier with every feed they have.”

And it was clearly evident that the Springboks’ senior group, which was instrumental in winning last year’s World Cup, have a major bearing in how the team performs.

Since De Villiers took over this year, it has often been inferred that the senior group has a bigger bearing on how the show is run than the head coach, reports the Rugby Heaven website.

In the clash against the All Blacks, Victor Matfield was sent off for a high tackle in the 73rd minute. But the South Africans rallied, and through a spectacular effort by halfback Ricky Januarie, were able to score the winning try in the final minutes.

”They’ve made a bit of progress in terms of their combinations,” Deans said. ”They hung in the game well, because for a stretch they looked like they were gone. But they never relented. That was most evident when Victor Matfield was sinbinned. For most teams, that would have been the death knell. But the courage they showed to get up and get home, and that they kept looking for opportunities, is a trait which is invaluable.”

What will also change for the Wallabies as they prepare for their first Tri-Nations match is the level of intensity.

”What we are entering is going to be significantly different to what we’ve been in. The contest is at another level in terms of physicality and speed,” Deans said.

”What is so evident is that we have to play for 80 [minutes]. There will be no scope to relax. They are the world champions, and you don’t achieve that lightly.

”They were also prepared to use the width of the ground, which is a bit of a growth for them. They also have capabilities across the park, and it’s only because they threatened those outside channels that the inside one opened up ultimately. And they kept attacking.

”In the past, when they went in at half-time, they probably would have just come out with a conservative approach, and attempt to squeeze the life out of it.” – Sapa