Gutted Deans to 'harness' 3N suffering
Sun, 14 Sep 2008 12:22
Unfamiliar feeling: Wallaby coach Robbie Deans wants to build a winning culture
Australia coach Robbie Deans wants to "harness the suffering" of narrowly missing out on the Tri-Nations title to create a stronger winning culture on the Wallabies upcoming tour to Europe.
Hard-running eighthman Wycliff Palu came off with a knee strain early in the competition decider against New Zealand and is in doubt for the November tour, which kicks off in Hong Kong on November 1 before moving on to Europe.
The Wallabies relinquished a 10-point lead to lose 28-24 to Graham Henry's All Blacks, who claimed their fourth straight Tri-Nations crown despite losing a clutch of players after last year's
World Cup.
New Zealand also successfully defended the trans-Tasman Bledisloe Cup by taking an unbeatable 2-1 lead with one match to go in Hong Kong.
"I was proud of the effort, but frustrated to get close and not nail it," Deans said.
"We seek the consistency that the All Blacks have. They've got a habit of winning these games. We're getting closer but we're not there yet.
"We let them in softly and that was disappointing."
Australia's 33-man tour squad will be announced on September 23 and they will have four training camps where Deans hopes to improve skill execution and technique to take them to the next level.
Both Deans and skipper Stirling Mortlock rued three straight converted All Blacks tries from Australian turnovers and missed tackles which turned the game from 17-7 to 17-28 in 17 minutes.
"They took advantage of their opportunities better than what we did, that was the difference," Mortlock said.
"The majority of our tries we worked pretty hard for and both their tries that got them back into the lead were quite soft. We had defensive lapses and that really got their tails up."
New Zealander Deans, Australia's first foreign coach, said preparations for the November tour provided valuable time to get into the specifics to "master" bad habits.
"We have a two week-break now which is good and then we have our first opportunity to actually really work on and perfect some of our habits, whether they be skill or technique or mental skills or team skills," Deans said.
"There's a whole lot of little things, and it's generally the little things that bite you. It's also the little things that allow you to thrive."
The tour begins in Hong Kong on November 1 and also includes Tests against Italy, England, France and Wales before a mid-week Barbarians clash.
Western Force loose forward Richard Brown, who came on in the 34th minute for his Test debut, is Palu's potential replacement at the back of the scrum for the tour.
SAPA-AFP
