OFFICIAL: Robbie Deans 'stepping down' from Wallabies

This is correct.

The Wayne Smith article was an analytical review of Deans's performance. It was top shelf and long overdue in terms of straight talking.Just as some of our political leaders lost the plot, so too did Robbie Deans. When he came in he was welcolmed. As his lack of success and puzzling decisions became more commonplace , he lost the confidence of many Australian rugby supporters. No one questions Dean's deceny, only his ability as a National Coach. Wayne Smith's article told the truth, without pulling punches. If Deans held Australian Rugby in the highest regard, and offered his resignation after the World Cup, Wayne Smith's article would never have been written. When O'Neill was replaced, Deans could have put to the incoming CEO, Bill Pulver, that he accepted his tenure had become more and more controversial , more and more disappointing, and he would offer hs resignation. He had been appointed by O''Neill, not by Pulver. The incompetence of the ARU board in not incorporating contract termination triggers ,based on performance has not been highlighted .The criticism of Wayne Smith and his article is a classic case of "shooting the messenger". Without Wayne Smith's clarity ,the fog of of obtuseness would have misted over the reality of a period of failed delivery of the potential of Australian rugby. A parallel between the leadership of McKenzie and that of the distinguished General Sir John Monash may one day be drawn. Whilst that may seem extreme and not in a similar context, I believe the unifying,clinical and intellectual leadership skills that McKenzie displays will result in a sucess ,that warrants every word of Wayne Smith's article .

Deans will proberly coach Tonga or one of the Pacific Island sides and clean up Aussie in the 2015 RWC - would'nt that be a laugh

Whether it's new or not James there's one thing you can hang your hat on. There will be a negotiated Settlement that reflects the fact that Deans was sacked; it will be a substantial cheque. Coaches are handled in this way all the time and any harm to Deans' career would be minimal.

When Deans actually took over you were 4th and it only took a win at home over France and Ireland - who haven't won in Aus since 1990 and 1979 respectively - to get back to 3rd.

When Deans took over we were ranked fifth. I think it is three now. I'm not sure how that is not a "better place". Leali'ifano would have been picked last year but dislocated his ankle in Super rugby. White was selected as the back-up halfback in each of the three home Welsh tests last year before injuring himself. Paddy Ryan was selected for the 2012 Spring Tour and picked up his first cap along the way. Tapuai went on the 2011 Spring Tour and finished 2012 as the incumbent inside centre. Speight isn't eligible. Tomane was blooded last year against Scotland and then did his ankle which put him out for the rest of the year. Sio, Godwin, Kuridrani and F-Sautia have only shown great promise this year. Did you want Deans to debut them against the Lions? Mogg was / is the form fullback. How Barnes ever got picked boggles the mind. Pyle is the only one of mystery in your list of gripes.

Luv wayne smith the best rugby journo in aus

How is Deans supposed to be responsible for Australian rugby being in a better place now? It's coincidence that we have a heap of young players coming through. Explain to me how Deans can be thanked for developing these up and comers: - Lealiifano (not picked till this year) - White (never picked by Deans) - Mogg (not picked till the 2nd test - Paddy Ryan - Scott Sio - Kyle Godwin - Ben Tapuai - Kuridrani and F-Sautia - Speight and Tomane - Hugh Pyle It's because of these guys that Australian rugby is on the up, and I don't see how Deans had any influence on their development.

That's only one of many issues.

Yes agree Ajax deans had more than enough of an opportunity, I mean 6 years for heavens sake. Can you imagine a coach of the AB's surviving for 6 years with that sort of a record? 6 years!

Yesterday the Sydney Telegraph on it's back page had an article by Iain Payten & Jim Tucker headlined "Pack your bags today Dingo". No matter what you think of Deans this is pretty low & the most unbecoming rugby commentary. It is not what the culture of the game stands for. These two 'professional journalists' are simply guttersnipes and have no place in rugby or it's commentary. Funnily enough, their employer, the Telegraph, didn't want to know about it - however they were quite happy for me to post a comment - if I bought a subscription to their paper! Now isn't that a thought.....

Apparently if you Google 'meltdown' this thread comes up Lol

But think how much more successful than you?

Not many teams would have coaches as most teams cant beat the ABs.

Robbie was a man for the times. He is Australia's longest serving coach, so no one can say he wasnt given a fair go. He had some notable achievements, the wins in South Africa.. (first to win at altitude since 1966).. the Tri Nations in 2011... The RWC had one spectacular implosion against the Irish.. an incredible win against the Boks.. and a predictable thumping by the All Blacks... 2012 was disasterous for injuries.. we still managed to roll Wales 3-0.. beat the old enemy at Twickenham.. a lot of Aussie coaches havent done that. But the Lions series really told the story... given a full fit list.. he picked a side that not a single Wallaby, dare I say it rugby fan could comprehend. Im not going to go over them again, but he really painted himself into a corner by not picking Cooper or Toomua for the any of the tests... Alexander struggled manfully during the series... he did exceptionally well till the Lions worked him out. He is a great loosehead... pretty useful but not great tighthead.. is it his fault he gets played out of position? So the Deans era has ended.. and at the end of the day his epitah should read, "seems like a decent bloke.. coached to the best of his ability..... he did ok .. not great, not terrible.. but ok".

Ili disagrees, strongly. Has i occurred to you that Wayne Smith was a voice of reason in calling for Deans' head for so long? Was this not proven correct on Saturday night? It had already been proven correct a number of times, i.e. Deans' delusions that JOC is a 10. Deans' persistence with McCabe at 12. The RWC no reserve openside debacle. The selection of Kane Douglas. The dropping of Gill for a player who hadn't played a test match in 4 years and who hadn't played a match in 6 weeks. His stubbornness in black balling QC. His management of JOC & the real deal. His persistence with Barnes. His lack of game plans. His lack of a plan B in light of never having a plan A. His loss to Scotland twice. His loss to Samoa. I could go on all day. Deans should have been shown the door 2 years ago. Smith was simply voicing the opinion of a vast majority of Australian's and kudos to him for having the plums to do so. May he long continue to provide his views and opinions... Ili, out.

I am no fan of Dean's (despite being a Crusader fan) 1. Deans was never as popular with hard core Crusaders fans as many seem to believe 2. He has a long list of people he has fallen off-side with and I believe some serious questions about his leadership and man management skills 3. He has a number of questionable selections decisions over his 6 years But, I think he leaves Australia Rugby in a stronger position than it was 6 years ago Despite the scrum issues they had on Saturday night I believe the Wallabies have finnaly build up a better stock of front row forwards & Locks that are now starting to come thought. Ewen McKenzie will start with a better player depth than Deans and Australia will be able to complete better with the All Blacks over the next few years by matching up better in the forwards Prop Depth - James Slipper is in my opinion a better scruming prop that Ben Alexander is now. Sekope Kepu was able to help the scrum become more secure we substituted for Ben Alexander on Saturday night. And - Australia have developed new prop stocks in (Dan Palmer, Scott Sio & Paddy Ryan) who are all showing plenty of promise at Super rugby level

No pressure on Link either. QC @ 10 and a front row that is still not of international scrumming standard first up against the team most "authorities" on this site seem to think we should beat more often than not. There is a reason why the ABs beat us in roughly every 3 of 4 tests we play against them. They're better than we are. Our golden era has lulled too many into thinking that's the way it should be into perpetuity.

I never claim.to be. Fos talks as isn't as dramatically inferior in rugby achievements as he is or you AdamS.

Hey champ, In context to Robbie Deans no one, " has done more to damage the man than almost anyone else" except Deans himself. If you think Wayne Smith selects Wallaby coaches or effects their performance you are incorrect. Was it Wayne Smith who failed to get the Wallabies to fire? Was it Wayne Smith who failed to keep the 3 amigo's under control? Was it Wayne Smith who made such poor selections? Mate Robbie is the architect of his own demise. Its Smith's job to report and comment on it. Wayne Smith has the pills to write it how he see's it; as does David Lord, Brett McKay, Spiro Zavos and the rest of them. Just because your beloved Robbie Deans is no longer the coach you attack a journo for practising his freedom of speech. You talk about fairness yet how fairly were Christina Cullen, Tana Umunga, Andrew Mehrtens, Stirling Mortlock, Lote Tiquiri, Rocky Elsom, Quade Cooper and Matt Guitea and the host of assistant Wallaby coaches treated by Deans over the years when he continued to bumble on and pick Beale and O'Connor who had done much worse. Fairness my back side! KPM - he is gone. By all accounts he is decent bloke but he was an average Wallaby coach.