BRUCE DEANS: 1960-2019 Tough halfback was a true team man
Former All Blacks halfback Bruce Deans was a tough, committed man who refused to retreat on the rugby field.
Deans, who played for the All Blacks from 1987 to 1989 and made 10 test appearances, succumbed to cancer yesterday. He was 58.
A fiercely proud Cantabrian, Deans made 23 appearances for the All Blacks and played 116 games for Canterbury.
Don Hayes, who captained Canterbury when the province held the Ranfurly Shield from 1982 to 1985, said Deans would have thrived in the current era because of his willingness to tackle and compete until the final whistle.
‘‘He loved the hard, physical stuff,’’ Hayes said. ‘‘He loved defence – he would have suited today’s game perfectly as a halfback.’’
Although the sport was still amateur in the 1980s Hayes said Deans, like a number of his team-mates, never used the lack of money as an excuse to take shortcuts at trainings or during games.
‘‘He was seriously dedicated to any team he played for,’’ Hayes said. ‘‘He did all the extra training that the professional guys do today and always prepared himself 100 per cent for every game.’’
Hayes, who played at blindside flanker, said Deans also knew his own mind.
He recalled the time he called a move during a match, only to be over-ruled by his sturdy No 9. That led to a robust discussion which must have had those around them – especially the opposition – wondering what the two Cantabrians were getting so heated about.
‘‘He was pig-headed,’’ Hayes said with a laugh. ‘‘I can remember during a game when we must have walked 20 to 30 metres across the ground arguing.
‘‘I had called a move, he changed it and did it his way. We had the argument and the game was still going on around us. He didn’t lie down.
‘‘In his mind that was the right thing to do, so he did it. He would talk you around to his way, and if you still didn’t do it he, well, he just did it anyway.’’
Hayes said Deans kept a lookout for close friends and team-mates, whether they were playing for his Glenmark club or Canterbury.
When older brother Robbie, who played five tests for the All Blacks from 1983 to 1985 and now coaches in Japan, recovered from a serious knee injury and returned to the field for Canterbury it was often Bruce who got back to assist him in defence.
‘‘He was a great team man. He would do anything for you,’’ Hayes emphasised.
‘‘He always had Robbie’s back. He had everyone else’s back too but more than anyone else he always had Robbie’s back.’’
Although a member of the All Blacks squad that won the inaugural World Cup tournament in New Zealand and Australia in 1987, Deans was unable to get a start ahead of captain David Kirk.
He had to wait until Kirk had left New Zealand to study at Oxford University in England to get the opportunity to wear the All Blacks jersey in action.
Deans was rewarded with three appearances in Japan later that year but didn’t receive his first test cap until picked to start against Wales the following year, scoring a try in the 52-3 triumph at his home ground of Lancaster Park in Christchurch.
Rugby historians enjoyed the fact that Deans, the grand nephew of the legendary All Black Bob Deans who played for the 1905 Originals, scored a try against Wales. That was because Bob had been denied a match-winning try against Wales during the Originals’ northern tour in controversial circumstances.
Bruce played his final test against Australia in Auckland in 1989, a match the All Blacks won 24-12.
Although picked for the end-of-season tour of Wales and Ireland, he was replaced by fellow Canterbury star Graeme Bachop for the tests.
Deans played six more games on the tour. The following season he was not required by the All Blacks selectors, although he did play for Canterbury before heading overseas to travel, coach and play rugby in 1990.
Later Deans returned home to farm and raise a family in North Canterbury.