Destiny calls for Wallabies coach Robbie Deans

TWELVE years ago, Rod Macqueen embarked on his last series as Wallabies coach, in Brisbane against the British and Irish Lions.

TWELVE years ago, Rod Macqueen embarked on his last series as Wallabies coach, in Brisbane against the British and Irish Lions.

There is no shortage of punters tipping that Robbie Deans will be doing the same tomorrow.

The difference is, of course, that Macqueen had already made the decision to exit stage left, the feeling being that he had achieved everything he had set out to achieve.

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A once-in-a-career series win against the Lions was to be the ultimate icing on the cake and, after a shaky start at the Gabba, his players gave him that as well.

Robbie Deans would probably be the first to admit he hasn't achieved everything he set out to achieve when he began his highly paid tenure at the helm of the Wallabies five years ago. His many critics would argue that he hasn't achieved much at all.

Statistically, under Deans the Wallabies have played 72 Tests, won 43, drawn 2 and lost 27, a winning percentage of 59.70.

It puts him ahead of Eddie Jones (57.89) and virtually level with short-term coach John Connolly (59.07), but well below Macqueen (79.09), Alan Jones (67.7), Bob Dwyer (63.89) and Greg Smith (63.16).

Of course when it comes to Australian rugby, a win-loss table tells only part of the story. Of more importance to Wallabies followers is who these wins and losses are against.

Yes, there was a three-Test series clean sweep over Wales last year, but in the memory banks of long-suffering fans, that is secondary to the loss against Scotland that preceded it.

True, the Wallabies beat the All Blacks in Hong Kong and the Springboks on the highveld at Bloemfontein in recent years, but there was the small matter of the loss to Samoa.

Not that anything else would matter if Deans and his players had managed to win the silverware that matters most.

When ARU boss John O'Neill signed Deans, he thought he was getting more than Super Rugby's most successful coach. He thought he was buying the key to beating the All Blacks - one of their own, a man from the inner sanctum who knew their secrets and carried the blueprint to their success and downfall.

O'Neill did his dough. Five years on, the Aussies are yet to put a hand on the Bledisloe Cup, let alone drink from it.

But wait, there's more. To paraphrase Basil Fawlty, don't mention the World Cup.

Robbie Deans

To some of the participants (Georgia and Romania to mention two), a third-place finish in the 2011 Rugby World Cup would have been cause for dancing in the streets of Tiblis and Bucharest, but not Australia.

Again, like the win-loss table, that result tells only part of the story. Winning the third-place playoff against Wales might look OK in the history books, but it doesn't reflect the debacle that preceded it.

While, to his credit, Robbie Deans is a stoic character who doesn't look for excuses, apologists for the team could point to the injury toll that blighted the start to the World Cup campaign, most notably the loss of David Pocock - arguably the world's best open-side flanker - before the loss to Ireland.

To which the obvious reply is, what sort of selector heads into a six-week campaign without a back-up for his most valuable player?

If it wasn't for the most unlikely of wins against South Africa in the World Cup quarter-final, it is doubtful Deans would still be charge. The game in this country depends on big crowds and high ratings. Under Deans the Wallabies have been as entertaining as Celebrity Splash. In 15 Tests last season they managed 15 tries, and failed to score over 30 points in a game for the first time in 31 years.

When he arrived in 2008 Deans put a broom through the old guard and put his faith in Generation Y, giving the likes of Quade Cooper, James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale the latitude and numerous second chances he denied Matt Giteau and Lote Tuqiri.

His falling out with Cooper would suggest that perhaps a stronger early stand was the way to go.

Still, that's all history now, as will Robbie Deans be if he can't somehow conjure a series win against the formidable visitors.

Rod Macqueen and John Eales