Robbie Deans
Robbie Deans
Robert Maxwell Deansis a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights. He was head coach of the Australian national team between 2008 and 2013. Deans had previously coached the Crusaders for eight seasons and was an assistant coach of New Zealand between late 2001 and 2003. As the coach of the Crusaders, Deans has won more Super rugby titles than any other. He has also coached Canterbury in the...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth4 September 1959
amount credit deserves fair force large
It would be fair to say we were off the pace, but a large amount of credit deserves to go to the Force for that.
caught knock saturday sinister took
There's nothing sinister there. Our doctor, Deb (Robinson), caught up with him on Saturday and he just took a knock to it. He should be fine.
doubt earned ground
We earned it. There's no doubt we earned it. Things didn't go our way but we ground it out.
act class delighted rugby zealand
He's a class act isn't he? I would think New Zealand rugby would be delighted to have him back on the roster.
age age-and-aging creative looking prepared thinker
I don't think age is at all relevant. He's a creative thinker, a lateral thinker and he's always looking for opportunities. He's prepared to take a risk.
expect people
Most people expect it's a given, but it's not necessarily the case.
bit both doubt guys morning ralph test
We will also test Caleb Ralph who's a bit tight, so he's potentially in doubt and we will look at both those guys in the morning before making a decision.
game trial
It's an important game for Mitch, who is re-entering the fray and he doesn't like to lose, even a trial match.
plan
It's been part of the plan from the outset.
cumulative effect head symptoms totally
It's just flatness basically. He's got no symptoms of head injuries, he just hasn't totally come up from the cumulative effect of the work.
guys managing
We are just managing our guys as we would do every year.
aaron came contact hopefully week work
We'll look at Aaron ? hopefully he'll be all right. He did some contact work at the end of the week and came through it well, so should be able to take his place.
doubt foot last next remains seen side strides
They have made big strides no doubt about that, that's often what comes out of adversity. They are a better side than last year, but that's very evident. It remains to be seen how we foot it next to them.
battle wills
There's a lot of similarities between the two sides, so it really is going to be a battle of wills and of wits.