On the eve of his first encounter with New Zealand as the enemy, new Australia coach Robbie Deans has played down suggestions the current All Blacks side is a shadow of its former self.
Deans and the majority of his charges have kept well clear of the verbal warfare waging between former greats from either side of the Tasman in the lead up to Saturday's much anticipated Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations clash.
And the first non-Australian Wallabies coach did his best to douse the flames following the Wallabies' final training run at ANZ Stadium on Friday.
‘I guess it's easy from the other side of the chalk but you've only got to look at their performance history and you could argue that their performance history in recent times is superior to anything that's ever been,’ Deans said of the All Blacks.
‘So it doesn't really matter (what's said), the only thing from the perspective of these blokes is what happens on the day.’
Deans also continued to downplay his personal battle with the man preferred ahead of him as All Blacks coach, Graham Henry.
Asked if he has a burning desire to topple the Kiwis and get one-up on his opposite number, the former Crusaders coach insisted he would approach the clash as he would any other fixture.
‘We were at Martin Place (in Sydney) the other day and I can't recall who it was but someone hammered away until they got the answer that they wanted because I essentially relented,’ he said.
‘(The question was) is this the biggest game? Well, it's the only game because it's on Saturday and that's the nature of this game, you thrive or survive week to week.’
Over his long association with reigning Super 14 champions the Crusaders, Deans is credited with moulding Dan Carter into the world's best fly-half.
Asked if he has a plan to nullify his former star playmaker, Deans said: ‘We have ideas, we'll see how they run.’
Deans agreed the clash between pivots Carter and the Wallabies' Matt Giteau will go a long way to determining the outcome.
‘Both of those blokes are critical to their team's performance without a doubt but they also will reflect their team's performance,' Deans said.
‘But they're not magicians, they're close to it but they've got to live within the parameters of the game and the opportunities that their team-mates present them with. One thing you can be sure of is that they're both so able that they will have the ability and the awareness to take what's on offer.’
