The ever streetwise Wallabies coach Robbie Deans

The ever streetwise Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has banished from his players’ minds any thoughts of superiority over the Springboks they might have had after beating the Boks in their last three matches including twice this year.

At this morning’s team announcement, the man who built the Crusaders’ Super Rugby empire said: “All that matters is Sunday. The winner goes on, the loser goes home. Taking comfort from previous games is the quickest path way to the airport! The knock-out phases of the World Cup are completely different to every other type of rugby we play: the stakes are higher, the intensity greater and the margins between success and failure smaller. We’ve seen that to some extent already in the tournament through the key pool matches and you can pretty much guarantee that it will all only intensify from here.”

Deans was in the happy position of being able to select a close to full-strength team after injuries in the Pool games threatened to literally cripple the Aussies’ campaign. Wing Drew Mitchell and loose forward Wycliff Palu have gone home crocked and centre Ron Horne is still with the team with a cheek bone fracture, but a number of other injuries have cleared up.

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Fullback Kurtley Beale, wing Digby Ioane and centre Pat McCabe have recovered from ailments and return to the starting line-up.

Deans has picked a team brimful of talent but he cautiously pointed out that his side had little World Cup knock-out experience compared to the Boks.

“South Africa still has the core group from the last World Cup together. They know what it takes to be successful in knockout rugby and know how to close out the tight games,” Deans says.

“They’ve already shown that in this tournament when they came from behind to beat Wales by a point (17-16). They have a group which has the knowledge and belief that it can get things done. They will bring that mentality forward with them on Sunday. If we are going to earn the right to advance to the next round, we have to match it.”

MIKE GREENAWAY IN WELLINGTON