Barbarians head coach Robbie Deans will go head to head with compatriot Joe Schmidt at Thomond Park on Thursday night believing his invitational side are set to face genuine World Cup contenders.

Robbie Deans has ruled himself out of the running for the Leinster head coach position. The former Australia coach had been linked with the post after it was announced last week that Matt O’Connor had agreed to leave the club by mutual consent.

Amidst the mountain of names mentioned yesterday as possible replacements for Matt O’Connor’s Leinster job, it was that of Robbie Deans that emerged on top with the New Zealander’s tumbling odds squaring with earlier smoke signals from sources.

A pair of iconic southern hemisphere rugby personalities have tipped Ireland to make a huge impact in the upcoming World Cup.

Thomond Park is set to be graced by two more world-renowned stars when the Barbarians face an Ireland XV in Limerick later this month after Wales and Lions duo Adam Jones and Alex Cuthbert were added to Robbie Deans’s invitational squad.

All Blacks legend Joe Rokocoko is set to make his first return to Thomond Park since scoring the winning try against Munster seven years ago after being confirmed for the Barbarians squad to face an Ireland XV in Limerick on May 28.

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Former Australia head coach Robbie Deans will oversee the Barbarians for their two fixtures against Ireland and their game against England in May.

Despite all the upheaval, history has shown the Aussies are a resilient bunch.

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Australian sport is going through a rough time at present, something an ultra-competitive, sports-mad nation is finding difficult to come to terms with.

Rob Kearney will not be carrying any baggage from his personal Lions disappointments when he finally gets to face Australia on Saturday.

It’s a brisk but bright November morning in Dublin and Ewen McKenzie is chewing the fat with the Irish media about the need to resurrect his side’s fortunes and the requirement that he do it with a certain panache as well.

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Ewen McKenzie is targeting Bledisloe Cup success after being installed as the new Australia coach yesterday.

Ewen McKenzie has been confirmed as Australia’s new head coach following Robbie Deans’ resignation.

Australian rugby chiefs are to fire national coach Robbie Deans and replace him with Queensland’s Ewen McKenzie following the Wallabies’ series loss to the British and Irish Lions.

Robbie Deans has been sacked as Australia head coach following the Wallabies’ Test series defeat to the British and Irish Lions, according to reports in the Australian press.

That Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies both played wonderfully well in the thrashing of the Wallabies doesn’t completely justify Warren Gatland’s cruel dismissal of Brian O’Driscoll, but it surely saves him from having to do a heck of a lot of explaining in the days and years to come.

It was just one of those nights for the Wallabies.

Twelve years ago George Smith was gearing up for the Wallabies’ crunch third Test with Graham Henry’s Lions outfit in Sydney’s magnificent Olympic Stadium.

Australia coach Robbie Deans has promised his team will play its best rugby of the series tomorrow when the Wallabies face the British and Irish Lions in the decisive third Test at ANZ Stadium.

Australia coach Robbie Deans is surprised by Brian O’Driscoll’s omission from the British and Irish Lions team for Saturday’s deciding Test at ANZ Stadium.

Flanker George Smith has been recalled to the Australia team to face the British and Irish Lions in the third and final Test in Sydney.

Australia head coach Robbie Deans insists having captain James Horwill available for the final Test will not give his side an edge but admits his players have received a massive boost after the skipper’s stamping acquittal was upheld.

With Warburton out, if Deans chooses to recall George Smith to the fray, we could see a sizeable shift in that battle at the breakdown.

Australia captain James Horwill watched the Tour de France during a sleepless night spent agonising over whether he would be permitted to lead the Wallabies in Saturday’s series decider against the British and Irish Lions.

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LIONS TOUR - SECOND TEST: Australia v Lions

It’s fair to say Robbie Deans does not like speaking to the media.

Australia coach Robbie Deans was disappointed by the presence of Kurtley Beale and James O'Connor in a fast-food restaurant in the early hours of the morning, but did not consider dropping them.

Paul O’Connell was undoubtedly a significant contributor to the Lions victory in the first Test in Brisbane, but perhaps the more crucial factor was the Munster-like weather that afflicted the so-called Sunshine State the day before the match.

It was difficult not to have a degree of sympathy for the Australians on Saturday night.

Robbie Deans has been consistently labelled a conservative coach throughout his tenure as Wallabies supremo, but the former Canterbury Crusaders boss well and truly threw the cat amongst the pigeons with his selection for Saturday’s opening clash with the Lions in Brisbane.

Australia have picked James O'Connor at fly-half for Saturday's opening Test against the British and Irish Lions at Suncorp Stadium with Kurtley Beale included on the bench.

WARREN GATLAND knew in advance of yesterday’s meeting with the ACT Brumbies that he was dicing with death with a back line he was forced to cobble together over the last few days.

Australia coach Robbie Deans today refused to provide the British and Irish Lions with any ammunition ahead of Saturday’s series opener by distancing himself from Bob Dwyer’s accusation that the tourists are “cheats”.

Australia have named Tri-Nations winning captain James Horwill as their skipper for the British and Irish Lions Tour.

At last a game to savour, at least until the rain made handling conditions very difficult in the second half at the Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

This morning’s game against the Western Force in Perth will offer the British and Irish Lions management a far greater barometer of what to expect over the next few weeks than the testing but ultimately one-sided game against the Barbarians in Hong Kong last Saturday.

“Hopefully going forward, if we’re going to take the Lions seriously, we need to make sure there is enough preparation to make a fist of it”.

Australia coach Robbie Deans has expressed surprise at Rory Best’s exclusion from the British & Irish Lions squad travelling Down Under next month.

James O’Connor has set his sights on claiming the fly-half jersey when Australia take on the British and Irish Lions this summer.