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Auckland - Wallabies coach Robbie Deans believes that although his players had full respect for the All Blacks on Saturday, they went into the match with the wrong mindset.
The two teams had been engaged in a war of words in the run up to the Tri-Nations fixture - with backroom staff and players from both sides of the Tasman joining the verbal ruck, and All Black assistant coach coach Steve Hansen saying that the Wallabies “probably don’t even respect” his team.
Now, in the wake of a humbling defeat, Deans has claimed that overconfidence was not the cause of his team’s 30-14 loss to New Zealand.
"I would suggest our guys got ahead of themselves when you look at how we played," Deans is reported to have told the Australian.
"In terms of the suggestion (that the Wallabies were cocky) I don't agree with the suggestion in terms of lack of respect, but our decisions in the game would suggest we didn't enter the game in the right frame of mind.
The Wallabies coach instead blamed the result on poor decision making from his players.
"It's about where you go to and when. We went to the edge (to the sidelines) a lot, unnecessarily, which allowed them to set their defensive line and make our life difficult. You've got to do the work first before you go there. There are no easy routes and especially not when you chase the same routes,” said Deans.
"We weren't great. We weren't smart and I think we'll be better for that and this opponent is as good as it gets. But for all of that we left a lot of points out there, whether it be kicks at goal or whether it be not converting a lot of threatening situations. And yet we weren't far away."
The two teams had been engaged in a war of words in the run up to the Tri-Nations fixture - with backroom staff and players from both sides of the Tasman joining the verbal ruck, and All Black assistant coach coach Steve Hansen saying that the Wallabies “probably don’t even respect” his team.
Now, in the wake of a humbling defeat, Deans has claimed that overconfidence was not the cause of his team’s 30-14 loss to New Zealand.
"I would suggest our guys got ahead of themselves when you look at how we played," Deans is reported to have told the Australian.
"In terms of the suggestion (that the Wallabies were cocky) I don't agree with the suggestion in terms of lack of respect, but our decisions in the game would suggest we didn't enter the game in the right frame of mind.
The Wallabies coach instead blamed the result on poor decision making from his players.
"It's about where you go to and when. We went to the edge (to the sidelines) a lot, unnecessarily, which allowed them to set their defensive line and make our life difficult. You've got to do the work first before you go there. There are no easy routes and especially not when you chase the same routes,” said Deans.
"We weren't great. We weren't smart and I think we'll be better for that and this opponent is as good as it gets. But for all of that we left a lot of points out there, whether it be kicks at goal or whether it be not converting a lot of threatening situations. And yet we weren't far away."
