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SYDNEY (AP) — Australia rugby coach Robbie Deans says he is not surprised by the storm of criticism leveled at his team after its 32-23 loss to Samoa on Sunday, saying his players share the fans' disappointment.
The Wallabies have been accused of arrogance and complacency in naming a weakened team for the first test of their international season, but Deans insisted Monday he had no choice but to rest his top players.
Asked if he was surprised by the heated reaction to his team's defeat — one of the most embarrassing in Australia's history — Deans replied "not at all. We expect it. That's been our reaction."
Leading rugby writer Wayne Smith said in The Australian newspaper on Monday that the Wallabies' team selection smacked of arrogance.
"Who knows where along their three-year journey under Robbie Deans the Wallabies acquired such arrogance?" Smith said. "It is not as though they have ridden roughshod over their enemies.
"A record of 24 wins from 44 Tests testifies to nothing more than passing competence."
Samoa lock Danny Leo said his teammates had been offended by Australia's decision to name a second-string team for the match, its first against the Wallabies since 2005.
"There was probably a bit of underestimation on the Wallabies' part," Leo said. "We fed off the fact that they were using it as a trial match for a few guys they hadn't seen; we were quite offended by that.
"We used that to fuel the fire. Everyone came out firing. Pacific Island teams have always had great success coming in as underdogs, we thrive on that."
Deans said Monday that any public anger should be directed against the Wallabies' performance and not against team selection or other issues. He denied Australia was complacent in its approach to the match.
"It's more about the fact that we lost. It's more about the fact that we didn't play well," he said. "Had we not done either of those two things, the reaction may have been different.
"I don't know what other people were thinking, but we certainly weren't (complacent) ... and we talked about that internally and externally."
Deans said he had no choice than to rest key players.
"The (Super 15 champion Queensland) Reds didn't come in until Monday night. They'd had an enormous campaign that finished ... (so) we then gave them a window to recover out of necessity and obviously chose a combination based on that fact," he said. "We've obviously reviewed the game, now we're looking ahead."
Deans' comments on Monday are unlikely to quell public anger as Australia approaches its first Tri-Nations test of the season against a depleted South Africa on Saturday.
Sydney Morning Herald rugby writer Greg Growden said the Wallabies made an error in naming a "holding pattern" XV for Sunday's match.
"No, this wasn't the Wallabies' worst performance or their biggest upset in a checkered history," Growden wrote. "The indignity of losing to Tonga in Brisbane in 1973 and Scotland two years ago at Murrayfield remain bigger humiliations because the Wallabies were at full strength on those occasions.
"... Nonetheless, yesterday's shambolic loss is right up there in the Australian rugby embarrassment stakes, and numerous identities — on and off the field — deserve a good kick up the backside for allowing this to happen because it was clear too many took this game for granted."
Wallabies great David Campese told the Herald his former team got what it deserved for naming a "B'' team.
"You just can't give guys test caps for the sake of giving them test match experience. It's wrong," Campese said. "Some of the guys playing for the Wallabies shouldn't have been out there. And they can't use the excuse that they only had a week to prepare. In our day, we only had three days to prepare."
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The Wallabies have been accused of arrogance and complacency in naming a weakened team for the first test of their international season, but Deans insisted Monday he had no choice but to rest his top players.
Asked if he was surprised by the heated reaction to his team's defeat — one of the most embarrassing in Australia's history — Deans replied "not at all. We expect it. That's been our reaction."
Leading rugby writer Wayne Smith said in The Australian newspaper on Monday that the Wallabies' team selection smacked of arrogance.
"Who knows where along their three-year journey under Robbie Deans the Wallabies acquired such arrogance?" Smith said. "It is not as though they have ridden roughshod over their enemies.
"A record of 24 wins from 44 Tests testifies to nothing more than passing competence."
Samoa lock Danny Leo said his teammates had been offended by Australia's decision to name a second-string team for the match, its first against the Wallabies since 2005.
"There was probably a bit of underestimation on the Wallabies' part," Leo said. "We fed off the fact that they were using it as a trial match for a few guys they hadn't seen; we were quite offended by that.
"We used that to fuel the fire. Everyone came out firing. Pacific Island teams have always had great success coming in as underdogs, we thrive on that."
Deans said Monday that any public anger should be directed against the Wallabies' performance and not against team selection or other issues. He denied Australia was complacent in its approach to the match.
"It's more about the fact that we lost. It's more about the fact that we didn't play well," he said. "Had we not done either of those two things, the reaction may have been different.
"I don't know what other people were thinking, but we certainly weren't (complacent) ... and we talked about that internally and externally."
Deans said he had no choice than to rest key players.
"The (Super 15 champion Queensland) Reds didn't come in until Monday night. They'd had an enormous campaign that finished ... (so) we then gave them a window to recover out of necessity and obviously chose a combination based on that fact," he said. "We've obviously reviewed the game, now we're looking ahead."
Deans' comments on Monday are unlikely to quell public anger as Australia approaches its first Tri-Nations test of the season against a depleted South Africa on Saturday.
Sydney Morning Herald rugby writer Greg Growden said the Wallabies made an error in naming a "holding pattern" XV for Sunday's match.
"No, this wasn't the Wallabies' worst performance or their biggest upset in a checkered history," Growden wrote. "The indignity of losing to Tonga in Brisbane in 1973 and Scotland two years ago at Murrayfield remain bigger humiliations because the Wallabies were at full strength on those occasions.
"... Nonetheless, yesterday's shambolic loss is right up there in the Australian rugby embarrassment stakes, and numerous identities — on and off the field — deserve a good kick up the backside for allowing this to happen because it was clear too many took this game for granted."
Wallabies great David Campese told the Herald his former team got what it deserved for naming a "B'' team.
"You just can't give guys test caps for the sake of giving them test match experience. It's wrong," Campese said. "Some of the guys playing for the Wallabies shouldn't have been out there. And they can't use the excuse that they only had a week to prepare. In our day, we only had three days to prepare."
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