Rugby: Deans denies Aussies were too complacent

Robbie Deans had taken the opportunity to blood several new players against Samoa. Photo / Dean Purcell

As Samoa's history-making rugby players recovered from celebrating their remarkable win over the Wallabies there was no sign of the headaches subsiding for coach Robbie Deans.

Most of the Samoan squad checked out of their harbourside hotel nursing hangovers after a long night of partying to mark their stunning 32-23 victory at ANZ Stadium on Sunday, while across town Deans and his coaching staff were seeking their own brand of clarity by replaying a contest that has reserved a place in Australia's sporting hall of shame.

Deans digested newspaper headlines lampooning his side as the "Wobblies" as critics panned an inept performance by an "arrogant" side that assumed victory was a formality.

The first Wallabies side of this World Cup year will now be ridiculed in the same breath as their predecessors in 1973, the team beaten 16-11 in Brisbane by Tonga.

A 9-8 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield on the 2009 end-of-year tour had been considered the lowest point of the Deans' tenure until the Wallabies were outmuscled and out-thought by a Samoan combination that have not played together since November.

That unlikely upset left Deans, who helped conceive the "One Team" ethos underpinning the 2011 Wallabies, to defend his selections alongside captain Rocky Elsom as the rest of the team avoided further scrutiny as the post-mortem continued.

Deans and Elsom fronted while the squad had a recovery session at Coogee Beach and copped scathing criticism on the chin. "No, it's not a surprise. We expect it, it's been our reaction," the New Zealander said.

Deans denied the Australians were complacent approaching the test and that his line-up reflected a lack of respect for the Pacific Islanders. He took the opportunity to blood several new players, including halfback Nick Phipps, wing Rod Davies - a late replacement for the injured James O'Connor - second five-eighths Pat McCabe, lock Sitaleki Timani and flanker Beau Robinson.

Starting openside Matt Hodgson was ineffectual in his run on debut while recalled fullback Mark Gerrard also struggled in his comeback to test rugby after three years in Japan.

"We chose the team we thought would be best in the circumstances," he said, saying the Reds' Super 15 triumph and the existing injury toll influenced the selection. "From our perspective we had no choice.

"The Reds didn't arrive until Monday night, they'd had an enormous campaign and we allowed them the opportunity to enjoy that moment before they joined us.

"We gave them a window to recover and we chose a combination based on that fact. We were between a brick and a hard place, given we've got rugby to come as well. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't."

Six championship-winning Reds missed the game, and in hindsight it was probably wise not to risk mercurial Queensland playmaker Quade Cooper against the hard-hitting Samoans - fellow stars Will Genia and Kurtley Beale were only introduced as a last resort for the final quarter.

But there is no doubt the headline acts will be selected against a second-string Springbok side in Saturday's Tri-Nations opener at ANZ Stadium.

Cooper, Genia, Beale and O'Connor - providing he recovers from a hamstring strain - will start in a backline which battled to penetrate the rugged Samoan defence while the Wallabies' lack of physicality at the breakdown should be addressed by premier openside David Pocock's return from a foot injury.

Reds captain James Horwill will also be restored to the second row when the team is named on Thursday.

Elsom was confident the squad would regroup for the South Africans, who were as surprised as anyone by the scoreline when they landed three hours after the final whistle.

- NZPA