'Emotional' Deans ready for Bledisloe clash
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Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says he has no hard feelings towards All Blacks counterpart Graham Henry (Getty Images: Cameron Spencer, file photo)
Australian coach Robbie Deans has admitted he will be emotional in the build-up to tomorrow night's Bledisloe Cup clash with New Zealand in Sydney.
A former All Black himself, Deans will lead the Wallabies into a Bledisloe Cup game for the first time and says he will not be the only one caught up in the occasion.
"It'll be a great, great occasion, I'll be emotional there's no doubt," he said.
"I suggest everyone who's here will do that. And probably even those who are watching on TV will.
"Hopefully the occasion will be such that there is an electricity in the air and that's fantastic. I'm looking forward to that."
Deans continued to insist there was nothing personal about the battle against his countrymen, despite missing out when he applied for the New Zealand coaching job only to see Graham Henry re-appointed.
The Wallabies coach was a popular choice with All Blacks fans to take over the New Zealand side after the failed World Cup bid, but Deans said if he had a personal problem with Henry he would admit it.
"I'm perfectly capable of that, but I'm telling you the way it is," he said.
"I'm telling you that it's not about me. That's a fact. That's a reality. So I'm not going to tell you a lie."
Aiming high
After wins over Ireland, France and world champions South Africa this year, the Wallabies are aiming to return to the top of world rugby after their quarter-final exit to England at last year's World Cup in Marseille.
"I don't think they're daunted," Deans said.
"They're up against one of the best, if not the best, rugby sides in the world. They're aware of that, but that also excites them and that's a challenge that they're looking forward to," he said.
"They're getting a great opportunity on the weekend to stake a claim to that sort of respect."
Deans also played down the shoot-out between arguably the two best five-eighths in world rugby, Matt Giteau and Dan Carter.
The battle between the two fly halves may well decide the result, but Deans says neither player will be effective if the rest of their team does not perform.
"Both of those blokes are critical to their team's performance without a doubt," he said.
"But they also will reflect their team's performance. They're not magicians. They're close to it but they've got to live within the parameters of the game and the opportunities that their team-mates present them with."
