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Grand slam pressures aside, Robbie Deans says the Wallabies’s five-week spring tour is offering his young squad opportunities money can’t buy.
The 35-man squad has an average age of just 24.4, with centre Ryan Cross and prop Matt Dunning the tour veterans at 30.
With one eye of the 2011 Rugby World Cup and the other on building a team for the here and now, Deans says living out of each others’ pockets from Tokyo to Cardiff and London, Dublin and Edinburgh in between is a priceless experience for the new-generation Wallabies.
“It’s always exciting for any group to get away,” Deans said before Australia’s Lansdowne Cup clash with Ireland in Dublin.
“I guess the distinction between a Tri Nations and a tour of the UK is that you’re living together.
“Through the Tri Nations it’s so disjointed that we don’t actually spend a lot of time together in each other’s company, so this is great.
“You get away and you experience some cultures that you don’t get the opportunity to do a lot of routinely.
“And obviously play some rugby – there’s a lot of passion for the game over here.”
Indeed, the Wallabies are learning fast that it’s no working holiday playing the best of the British and European kings Ireland on successive weekends at the start of the winter.
Deans says fans only need to consider the tightness of each of the opening Tests of the European season – including France’s 20-13 defeat of world champions South African on Friday night – to realise the gap is closing between northern hemisphere teams and the traditional Tri Nations superpowers.
South Africa, New Zealand and Australia are still ranked one, two and three in the world, but the challengers are coming.
“There’s a lot of dialogue around that. It’s constant but, from a rugby player’s perspective and a rugby coach’s perspective, we recognise and respect the fact that there’s never much in it,” Deans said.
“The moment you think there’s something in it, it normally bites you. The moment you presume, you’re in trouble.
“You’ve only got to look as recently as last night to see those realities.”
Five-eighth Matt Giteau, enjoying his seventh European excursion, says the tours are not only great bonding experiences but also offer the Wallabies the chance to develop their skills playing a different brand of rugby to which Australians are accustomed to.
“Throughout the Tri Nations – and we’ve now got four Bledisloe Cup matches and you’ve got the Super 14 – you’re always playing South African and New Zealand sides,” Giteau said.
“It’s just refreshing to play northern hemisphere-style teams. They play a totally different style of rugby; new players and new challenges.
“So, from that side of things, it’s always good to come up here and play England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.