Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has re-affirmed his remarks that South Africa are not only the benchmark rugby nation, but also that the most dangerous teams in the Super 14 hail from the republic.

An interesting statement, based on the 2008 performances of not only his team, but of New Zealand and Wales. Most scribes would put the vintage of the Tri or Six-Nations champions beyond the results of the world champions.

But – the 53-8 Ellis park massacre aside – do Deans' comments really have merit when his own Wallabies have twice defeated the Springboks? One must also ask why he has emphasised this not once, but twice. It can't be to prop up the confidence of the South Africans themselves.

It's doubtful that it would be for the benefit of his team. Deans is a remarkably balanced coach, and would not regard his first year in charge to be anything more than a setting of principles. He himself has said that in reality, they haven’t even begun to lay the foundations.

So it is safe to say that it is a measured and subtle mental attack on his Kiwi countrymen. Opposing teams that have played New Zealand recently have not called them the All Blacks, deliberately breaking down the mystique and aura of arguably the game's greatest team.

Deans, an ingenious and brilliant commander, is beginning his own psychological warfare on what will be the coup de grace of his Wallaby coaching career. Something that in essence, he has been employed to achieve. Take down the All Blacks on home soil in the 2011 World Cup. 

Irrespective of where New Zealand are as a side in just over two years, the winner of the seventh global championship will need to go through a team that will be hell-bent on breaking a two-decade drought. Defeating the All Blacks in Sydney or Cardiff is one matter, upsetting them at Eden Park will be an entirely different proposition.

So is there any truth to Deans' remarks? He does make the point that the Ellis Park nightmare and the 42-6 victory over England at Twickenham were “in isolation” the best performances of 2008.

But to call a team the best in the world based on these isn’t accurate, considering that South Africa were missing the most crucial element of what Deans would expect from a dominating team – consistency.

Coming to Ellis Park, South Africa had suffered two defeats at home, including suffering a clean sheet against the All Blacks (that 19-0 victory considered by many the best performance of last year).

As impressive as the largest Test victory achieved by South Africa over Australia was, it was noted for not only the performance of the hungry Springboks in desperate need to prove a point, but for probably the worst Test performance by the Wallabies in 2008.

England’s defeat by South Africa was indicative of a terrible autumn series for Martin Johnson's men. But again, the narrow victories over Wales and Scotland were average performances from Pieter de Villiers' troops. The match at Murrayfield, against one of Europe’s weaker sides, was one where Scotland where left rueing missed chances to beat the world champions.

The two victories were impressive, but New Zealand's 13-win Test season with a Bledisloe Cup, Tri-Nations and a Grand Slam is symptomatic of a season which defines a team as the best in the world.

So, it will be interesting to see if such not-so-deftly disguised remarks do make an impact when the Southern Hemisphere international season begins in earnest.