Tri-Nations
Wallabies told to behave
2009-08-10 15:30
Email | Print
Discipline issues (Gallo)
|
Melbourne - Australian coach Robbie Deans has threatened to drop players for continued lapses in on-field discipline after sin-binnings robbed the Wallabies of manpower during their 29-17 loss to South Africa at the weekend.
Apart from conceding 13 penalties at Newlands in Cape Town, referee Alain Rolland showed the yellow card to flyhalf Matt Giteau after he crashed into Springbok Fourie du Preez off the ball with his forearm late in the first half of the Tri-Nations match.
Flanker Richard Brown followed Giteau off the field a minute later for offsides at a ruck, while loose forward George Smith was also yellow-carded in the 79th minute.
Australia's bid to break a more than 20-year win-less drought at Eden Park against the All Blacks last month also collapsed in a hail of penalties, the Wallabies squandering an early 10-point lead to lose 22-16.
Deans said the lack of discipline had cost the Wallabies against South Africa and flagged a harder line against offenders.
"If you keep going back to that trough and don't address that habit, there's only one other way of addressing it, that's to remove those that are drinking from that trough," Deans told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
A lack of mental discipline had also shown up in the line-outs against South Africa, Deans added, suggesting the Australians had been intimidated by the Boks' superior organisation.
"We essentially froze and that's what pressure does to you," Deans said of Australia's lineout woes.
"We know that they're a capable lineout and they create doubts in your own mind through their presence and history of performance in that area.
"You've got the two best locks (Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha) in the world and also height at the back in (Pierre) Spies, so that just adds a little bit of pressure.
"But the key is to master ourselves before we master our circumstance. A lot of it is still in our own thinking, until we master that, we won't give ourselves the best opportunity of mastering our opponent."