The News Review:
- New Zealander Deans named Australia rugby coach
- World Cup caps rugby’s year of playing defensively
- Rugby: Henry regrets letting Lochore exit without Cup
New Zealander Deans named Australia rugby coach
International Herald Tribune – Dec 14, 2007
The Australian Rugby Union said Friday that Deans a former All Black had signed a contract until the end of the 2011 season marking the first time a non-Australian will been in charge of the Wallabies in more than a century of test-match rugby. Deans shunned by the All Blacks in New Zealand when Graham Henry was reappointed coach last week came back into Australian consideration when the ARU said Deans has sent an expression of interest in the Australian position vacated by John Connolly after the Rugby World Cup. ARU chairman Peter McGrath then requested that the selection panel which interviewed five Australian candidates a month ago should go through the same process with Deans. The 48-year-old Canterbury Crusaders coach was interviewed on Wednesday in Sydney. “Robbie comes with a superb record and I am delighted to announce he will be joining the ARU” McGrath said Friday.
World Cup caps rugby’s year of playing defensively
International Herald Tribune – Dec 14, 2007
And in a final that was an anticlimax after a competition filled with spectacular tries and wildly oscillating games he was proved right. While the World Cup did contain the usual blowouts of overmatched teams there were fewer than usual. The competition was played for the most part in ideal autumn weather in France in stadiums filled with enthusiastic fans. They were treated to a series of upsets and narrow escapes involving the leading nations… At one point he almost stopped before sensing space and suddenly darting off in an unexpected direction. It had the inexplicable breathtaking quality of the greatest moments of sporting genius. Although the World Cup in the autumn dominated the rugby year in the spring France had again won the Six Nations and in the summer New Zealand had again won the Tri Nations. Both triumphs provided only false hope for both.
Rugby: Henry regrets letting Lochore exit without Cup
New Zealand Herald – Dec 14, 2007
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