Rugby World Cup 2011
Deans taking nothing for granted
ESPNscrum Staff
September 5, 2011
Wallabies boss Robbie Deans fields questions from the media, Garden Route Hotel, Durban, South Africa, August 8, 2011
Australia boss Robbie Deans © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Robbie Deans
Tournaments/Tours: Rugby World Cup
Teams: Australia | Italy

Australia head coach Robbie Deans is imploring his players to treat every single game in the World Cup as a final, starting with Sunday's clash with Italy in Auckland.

On the face of it, the key game for the Wallabies in Pool C will be their meeting with Ireland on Saturday week. However, Deans insists that he is attaching just as much importance to this weekend's game against the Azzurri and their subsequent clashes with the United States and Russia.

''That's the nature of tournament play. We're approaching this Sunday as our last game essentially. The tournament all revolves around the next game,'' the New Zealander said.

''We're not looking at the game in any clusters. We have to look at them in isolation. We've got to hit the ground running, because we're going in at the deep end. When you look at our pool, our first two opponents are ones we've had challenges with. It all starts on Sunday, and we have to get past that.''

The Wallabies have yet to arrive in New Zealand and Deans admitted that they are now chomping at the bit, revealing that the intensity in training had stepped up in recent days.

''They're ready to get on with it. Their minds are already over there, I suspect,'' the former Crusaders boss said. ''The training on Friday was a good indicator. They were pretty distracted during that session, and that may have had a lot to do with plenty of things which were going on at that time. But that's going to be part of the World Cup, and we have to be able to manage that.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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