6 Jul 2012

Deans needs results to keep Wallabies job

12:15 pm on 6 July 2012

The Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill says reclaiming the Bledisloe Cup is critical for Australian rugby and would go a long way towards securing the future of Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.

The Wallabies haven't held the Bledisloe Cup since 2002 and only broke a decade-long Rugby Championship drought last season.

O'Neill said Deans was comfortable with the reality that results were vital and that they would largely determine whether he'll be offered a new contract beyond 2013.

Australia face the All Blacks in Sydney on August 18 to open the respective Bledisloe and Rugby Championship campaigns, before backing up seven days later for game two against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland.

O'Neill conceded that eclipsing the World Cup champions would be largely a psychological barrier but believes the intensity of back-to-back Bledisloes should suit the Wallabies.

On his proposal for a 2015 match between a combined Australian and New Zealand Anzac team and the British and Irish Lions, O'Neill says he hopes the idea isn't put in the too-hard basket.

Conceding that scheduling could be a problem, O'Neill suggests the match be played immediately following the World Cup in England around the date of Remembrance Day on November 11th.