Deans OK with Campo's comments

Campese's twittering (and I use that word advisedly) says it all. In the immediate aftermath of the win, he didn't even have the grace to congratulate the Wallabies, just more mumblings about two bad teams playing each other, lack of basic skills, get the league out of union (whatever that means!) and Deans "still has no idea about US Aussies". No acknowledgement of how hard the Wallabies fought for that win. He really is a broken record.

Very neat summary Dan, and polite too. Like you say, "wow"!

So you're saying that: "Campo taking pot shots at the Wallabies coach" = "insightful and brilliant", but "rugby fans taking pot shots at Campo for the content and tone of his attacks" = "embarrassing for the fans who make them". Wow, how reasonable and rational. No wonder you admire him so much.

No offence Sheek, but that just sounds like a huge cop out. Sure he was an exciting player in the 80s who scored some great tries (and let more than his fair share in), but he was a winger and if there's one position that requires less understanding of the game than any other, it's that. That's why teams always put their league converts on the wing. And so I just don't buy that "he was a great player" = "he is capable of top level tactical analysis", because it clearly doesn't. Ever listen to Ben Tune's commentary? The guy was a brilliant player, and he's a top bloke, but his match analysis is terrible. Just listening to him makes you so incredibly greatful they have Rod Kafer there to say something worthwhile. Honestly Sheek, from your post its clear this is more about your admiration for Campo than the actual content of what he's saying. You shouldn't really let that stop you from seeing that saying "RD is the worst thing to happen to Australian Rugby" is both stupid and wrong. You want to talk about things that are wrong with Aussie rugby, then we could start with the continued focus on private schools at the developmental level.

Parisien, It's great that you think Campos record is more impressive than Deans, but it doesn't really stack up. Deans is a head coach of an international team currently ranked 3rd, and prior to that was a Super rugby coach, who took his team to 7 titles. He was also an assistant coach of an All Blacks team that won every trophy it was competing for before a WC upset by the wallabies. Deans may be struggling as coach of the Wallabies, but if you think Campo's record of being skills coach to a few clubs is more impressive than Deans's coaching record... Then I can only assume your definition of 'impressive' is somewhat different from what you'd find in any certified English doctionary.

"that’s why Robbie doesn’t care, because they both know this is nothing more than the impotent rage of a bloke suffering from relevance deprivation syndrome." Dan, you're a little out of line in my opinion. I think Campese's record is a lot more impressive than Dean's record, he is not whingeing, but making perfectly valid criticisms, shared by many here. He has also offered his services to the ARU, has coached at a high level, and has attempted to "fix things". And what exactly are you fixing Dan? I suggest that perhaps you are the one suffering from "relevance deprivation syndrome".

Look, to be honest I don't completely disagree about Deans, and I don't think many do. But Campo doesn't actually offer anything of value when he provides his little critiques... They're more like the visceral expression of frustrating you expect from your local half drunk rugby league fan who doesn't really get the game, but wants to let everyone know that he's sick of this team and how they play. That's fine for the averag part time fan/booze head, but it's pretty pathetic when it's coming from a former test player. You consider my comments about Campo to be hyperbolic, but in what sense are they? I have read the entire article and I have been reading his comments and articles for years, and I've read very few pieces that illustrated any kind of rational analysis or insight. The vast majority have all provided naught but superficial observations interspersed with his overblown expressions of dissatisfaction. I'm not saying he's "the worst thing to happen to Aussie rugby commentary", I'm just saying his main contribution to the discourse is irrational venting devoid of any useful suggestions. The problem is, that like Alan Jones, some people have a tendancy to confuse pigheadedness and bile with "truth". The funny thing I find is that when you direct some fire back on these bozos their fans get all defensive, as if they're allowed to be a--holes, but shouldn't have to cop anything in return.

Sheek, I fully agree with you on this. Campese can be a bit of a loudmouth and doesn't always express himself that well or with much subtlety, but he is a living legend of the game, his record and knowledge of the game speak for themselves and his opinions do matter! I for one am very interested in what he has to say, on any rugby subject, even if I might not necessarily agree with him, simply because its Campese. I'm equally interested in what Mark Ella, Bob Dwyer, or John Eales have to say for the same reasons. The Roarers who make cheap shots at Campese do themselves discredit.

Billy Bob, No, I'm not a mate of Campo. But people treat him like the village clown who actually knows more about the goings-on in the village than those people mocking him realise. Kind of ironic, isn't it?

Dan, I'm not going to trawl every post for evidence just to make you happy. The issue's not that important & I've already wasted enough time on this. I just want to make the point many people think it's "hip" to bag Campo, like wink-wink-nudge-nudge. Campo is one of the reasons why I love rugby. He's like Alexander of ancient times, Columbus of middle times & Neil Armstrong of modern times - a pioneering adventurer willing not only to push the known boundaries, but go beyond them into the unknown. It's guys like Campo that give rugby its excitement, which is why we watch sport. And as a consequence, he also has some deep insights into the game.

dan you remind me of an old eddie murphy joke when he says that people used to be critical of his act like it was all curse words and that was it. you clearly are not reading the whole article, and only want to reduce it down to your own biased interpretation. as a footnote, what happened to these other coaches that had the same things said about them? they got sacked!! deans has served up 5 years of the same drivel (with a smattering of fools gold in between) and has not been held accountable for the team he runs. again, campo and his hyperbole is no different to ours, so look at what is being said and not how it is said. most governments dont listen to people either, so why would the ARU be any different? dan, is your passion against campo, in any way mirrored, in campo's passion against deans??

Sheek, I suspect that you may need to declare an interest. I don't mean to embarrass you, but is Campo a mate? I have a couple of workmates of Italian extraction who also have a loose wire between their mouth and brain. Their extreme negative rants need to be taken with a grain of salt. Or a whole sack. Because they lay it on thick and fast. Then they calm down and are genuinely nice blokes. The Anglo-Celtic culture here struggles with the extremes of Mediterranean expression. That said Campo is writing and speaking in the public arena. 'Loose wires' is no excuse for unaccountability.

no he invited the big mouthed fly into his web. by the looks of the players being interviewed they look calm and ready to go, they dont want him going into their dressing room and trashing their coach

White is not Ozzie and Mckenzie doesnt want the heat

prove it jay

im looking forward to campo putting his laptop where his mouth is and putting his hand up to coach, and there are a few roarers who should put their hands up too so we can chop you to bits too

Nick, you're taking what I said out of context. The fact that 60-70% of all rugby training should involve a ball makes it inevitable that a heck of a lot of what players do to prepare will involve catching and passing. My point is, these guys can catch and pass. They wouldn't be professional rugby players if they couldn't. What they're lacking is the structure in play that makes it easy for the basic things to be done well.

He is a flaky bigmouth. He annoys people because he was high risk and didn't tackle. Ever notice how many games he finished without a drop of mud on him? That said I think he was a great player and I wish he was coaching my boys. Like qc what if what he's saying is right?

I thought they were having a meeting post tour ...

Truly good rant...