8 Jul 2013

Deans 'sacked' from Wallabies - report

10:34 pm on 8 July 2013

A report from Australia says Robbie Deans has been sacked as the coach of the Wallabies' rugby team.

No official announcement has yet been made but the ABC understands Queensland's Ewen McKenzie will be named as the new Wallabies coach at a news conference on Tuesday.

Deans, the former Crusaders coach and All Blacks assistant coach, was appointed to the Wallabies in December 2007.

His contract was extended for two years in 2011 but it is understood the Australian Rugby Union has released him six months early.

Speculation about the end of Deans' tenure has been rampant for some time, peaking after the Wallabies' 41-16 hammering at the hands of the British and Irish Lions in the deciding test in Sydney on Saturday.

Aside from the loss to the Lions, Deans' record of three wins from 18 matches against the All Blacks was cited by critics as a failure of the Wallabies under his coaching