It will be a red letter day for Wallaby coach Robbie Deans in Paris this weekend when he becomes the most-capped Australian coach.
The opening fixture of his side’s four match European Tour at Stade de France will be the Kiwi’s 68th Test match in charge of the Wallabies, taking him past World Cup winning coach Bob Dwyer’s 67.
The former All Black full back took over the coaching reigns in 2008 and will have taken less than four years to overtake Dwyer, who had two spells over a 10 year period to reach his landmark.
After dominating Super Rugby with his all conquering Crusaders side. Deans became the first Kiwi to coach the Wallabies – a move that didn’t go down well in all quarters. He steered his side to a Tri-Nations title in 2011, to third place at the World Cup and they currently stand at No 2 in the IRB World Rankings.
The game in Paris will be his 20th Test in charge in Europe and to date he has enjoyed a 69% success rate with nine wins and a draw. After France, Deans heads to Twickenham to face England before facing Italy and Wales at the Millennium Stadium.
