KEY POINTS:
So here we are. After a couple of near-meaningless jollies against piffling opposition from the north, Glenmark's Robbie Deans officially became a Member of the Opposition.
There he was in Perth, an Australian Rules stronghold, trying to beat the Boks while wearing a kangaroo on his pocket.
We
all know how it came to this but last night was confirmation that Deans coaching Australia is no longer a concept, but a reality. In Sydney next week, when the All Blacks meet Australia for the first time since Deans' defection, we will see if reality really does bite.
To save you the trouble of pouring over every word from the pre-test press conferences this is what will happen.
"It's not personal, it's about the All Blacks versus Australia, the Bledisloe Cup, not about Henry versus Deans," said Graham Henry/ Deans/ Steve Hansen/ Wayne Smith/ Michael Foley/ Jim Williams.
So it's not personal ... for them. For the thousands of Crusaders fans who've come to worship the water Deans apparently walks upon, it is.
For those whose disillusionment with Henry's methods reached fever pitch following the World Cup debacle (most of those in the first sub-group will be included in this group, too), it also is.
Of course, it will be personal because the bedrock of sport is the personalities behind it.
So there will be plenty of New Zealanders, including some in the media, who will be quite happy, perhaps for the first time in their lives, to see Australia beat New Zealand. They'll be backing the jockey, not the horse.
There's no point getting too upset about it, all antsy about a perceived lack of patriotism. Some people like Deans more than Henry, while others prefer the former headmaster's charms more than the stoic Cantabrian; it's as simple as that.
But quite how Deans managed to cultivate such a media-friendly image following the wreckage of the 2003 World Cup campaign is one of life's enduring mysteries.
He could claim with some justification that it was ultimately John Mitchell's show and he was a mere Indian filing in behind the Chief. However, Deans has never appealed as one of life's followers and would be more adept at crutching sheep than acting like one.
The reality is that Deans was equally as culpable in fostering the All Blacks' arrogant, aloof image in the lead-up and during that World Cup. Where he had one up over Mitchell in the rancorous wash-up was he didn't just recognise the need to change but had the interpersonal skills to do so immediately.
And, of course, being in charge of a team that just kept on winning in the Super 14 helped ... a lot.
That was his great strength late last year when he contested for the All Blacks position with the incumbent and a couple of interlopers in Colin Cooper and Ian Foster.
Deans won the battle for the hearts and minds of the media not because he was delivering great soundbytes, pearls of wisdom or flashing McLean's smiles, but because he had an incredible, unparalleled body of work behind. Four Super rugby championships as coach, two final appearances and you can also say he was denied a chance at five victories by the NZRU's decision to pull 22 players out of the early rounds of the 2007 Super 12.
In short, he is a winner.
Australians will come to love that about him.
The question is: will all New Zealanders, even Cantabrians, learn to hate that about him?
