Deans’ relief as family safe after earthquake

WALLABIES coach Robbie Deans says his family have emerged unscathed but the tragedy of the earthquake in Christchurch is a hard blow for local people who were just getting over the trauma of last year’s tremor.

Deans, a former All Black who excelled as a player and coach with the Christchurch-based Canterbury Crusaders, said he felt helpless as he watched the unfolding coverage from Sydney.

While relieved to hear that his mother and sister had emerged unscathed from the 6.3-magnitude quake, Deans said the recovery would be a long and painful one.

“It is a close-knit community. They’ve been through this already, but this is different — this is tragic, and it’s going to be tough to swallow,” Deans said.

“They got through September 4. They were very lucky with the timing of that one, because it was in the middle of the night. There’s no doubt (last year’s quake) traumatised everyone, and it’s the fear of the unknown, I guess.

Deans said it was not the time to speculate about the possible impact on Christchurch’s ability to host key games in this year’s Rugby World Cup, which kicks off this year in September.