Hansen has much to prove as All Blacks coach
MARK REASON
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OPINION: The appointment of Steve Hansen as coach of the All Blacks has gone through on the nod. 'A safe pair of hands' seems to be the generally complacent view. It is a curious assessment for two reasons. Hansen has an appalling record as an international head coach and the closest precedent suggests that even the safest hands can get the shakes.
First impressions can be misleading. My earliest view of Hansen was in 2003 ahead of a World Cup match against Italy when he was the head coach of Wales. Hansen and his captain arrived for a press conference looking like they had just emptied the bins round the back of the building. 'Slag' would have been a more fitting nickname than 'Shag.'
Earlier that day the media had been to the Italian session where John Kirwan, immaculately turned out, had been both witty and courteous. In contrast Hansen was sullen and rude. It was actually shocking. Apparently he had fallen out with the Welsh press corps, but that won't do as an excuse for a representative of a country in an international forum.
It was a harbinger. Suffering from the strange delusion that the media should be fans with typewriters, Hansen turned on the New Zealand press in 2009. He admits now that he came a distant fourth in the scrap: "I had to change my attitude and in doing that I went and spoke to some people." Maybe Hansen was driven by ambition, but it still takes some courage to change.
There are signs that Hansen has been successful in improving his outlook and for that he deserves enormous credit. One reason why the All Blacks won the World Cup was Graham Henry's ability to adapt his own personality to the needs of the team. It showed both shrewdness as well as, perhaps, an unsuspected humility.
When the All Blacks won the final of that World Cup it was also noticeable that Hansen went onto the field and took the trouble to go round the French players and talk to them. He would not have done so ten years earlier. It was a good start to Hansen's career as the All Blacks head coach.
But as Andy Robinson will tell him, there is a long, long way to go. In 2004 Robinson took over as head coach of England, the then world champions. Like Hansen, Robinson had been the forwards coach on the winning World Cup team. He had also previously been a successful club coach.
But Robinson soon found out that his inheritance had all but perished. Most of England's best players were on the cusp of retirement, the clubs were refusing to agree sufficient release dates and the RFU was terminally toxic. The upshot was that Robinson won only 9 of his 22 matches in charge and was gone from the job after a couple of years.
Perhaps Hansen inherits a better situation, but he will be aware that he is on a mere two year contract. His union is in financial peril and may have to attempt a Key-like asset sale. And like Robinson, many of his World Cup winners will be gone in four years time.
Brad Thorn has already retired and Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Richie McCaw, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith will all be well into their 30's in 2015. It may not be quite as straightforward a succession as New Zealand imagines.
The first 12 months of Hansen's rule should not be too much of a problem, but it could become shakier as the next World Cup approaches. Hansen is aware that he can only be a success if he becomes the first All Blacks coach to win a World Cup on foreign soil.
One would hope that the panel responsible for Hansen's selection did not ignore his record with Wales from 2002-2004. In that period in charge Wales had 11 victories against 20 losses and all of the wins were against the weaker nations.
Scotland was the highest ranked team to be beaten by Hansen's Wales. It was a reign most notable for bad selection and only when Hansen sent out his 'B' team to be slaughtered by the All Blacks at the 2003 World Cup did he realise how wrong he had been with his view of certain players, most memorably Shane Williams.
Along with his record as a poor selector, Hansen is nothing like as hard a worker as Wayne Smith and Graham Henry. Dedication is sometimes usurped by a taste for the good life. So let's hope the NZRU does not regret its culpable rejection of Warren Gatland's offer to make himself available.
Hansen has much to prove. His first big call is to decide when Kieran Read should take over the captaincy from McCaw. 'Alignment' was one of Henry favourite phrases. Hansen needs to get the players onside, not always the first instinct amongst All Blacks. For now Hansen has the nation's blessing, but Robinson will tell him how quickly the people can turn.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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Too many people being too quick to write off the 2012 version of the All Blacks, some six months before they play again, just because people don't agree with the NZRU's coaching appointments. Let's give them a chance to prove themselves, regardless of their past performances, before we write them off as potential failures. I believe that this new set up will prove their doubters wrong. With Steve Hansen, a bloke who's been in the setup since 2004, the All Blacks will be more than capable of retaining their #1 ranking under his watch.
Whats with all this "Steve has much to prove rubbish"? He's been in the job 8 yrs, and from where I'm standing, has done a mighty fine job so far. Nothing to prove, but the off siders do.As for the Robbie thing, get over it. Nobody wants an Australian coaching the All Blacks.Aussie passport equals Australian.Thats what all the other countries do. We coach our own.
The All Blacks - World Champions.....enjoy the next four years with that title kiwis - but lets not be arrogant about it.
Does anyone else find Mark Reason hard work? Is he the Stephen Jones of the NZ media!!
Lack of genuine contenders is rubbish ,reality is this a job for the boys plain and simple. Rennee ,Cotter,Gatland have far more credibility than Foster as does any coach who coached at super level but Foster gets the job and did not even get interviewed for the position. Hansen himself deserves a shot but has surrounded himself with turkeys. Comment 17 made me boost out in laughter suggesting Robbie Deans could take over. If there ever was a failed coach at international level Deans wins hands down learnt nothing from the past . Got rid of or did not use the experience of players ,made poor selections,picked another loose cannon at 1st five.Whats amazing as in 2003 picked his preferred 1st 5 because of his fall out with the previous one.Once again it came back an bit him in the butt as both Spencer and Cooper failed to deliver.
2003 slaughter of Wales. The point being made was that Hansen put out his B team to be slaughtered. They were not, showing his A team selections were suspect. Point being he has a record of bad selections.
"Come 2013, and if he "fails" - there will probably be a lot more quality coaches in line for contention of taking over"
Really? Who. Maybe Todd Blackadder, or Jamie Joseph? Wayne Smith again perhaps? It seems we are hiring guys with overseas and international test experience nowadays for the A.B coach post. They would have to return to NZ rugby and do well at a S15 team to be considered, and its questionable how much they can do in 1 year in S15, so i think we will be in the same situation...
I expect if it goes wrong here, then nothing much will have changed it 2014 in terms of quality and experience of coaches in New Zealand.
Unless one franchise really steps up and delivers two S15 titles in a row then the coach of it has to be in contention. Crusaders in terms of player talent seem the only one capable of doing so. I think come 2014, unless the AB's have been awful it will be hansen perhaps with Blackadder and Kirwan somewhere in the mix as assistants.
Surely its time for Kirwan to come and see how good he really is by taking on a NZ coaching role.
Wales were hardly slaughtered in the 2003 WC. They scored four tries against us, which to me was the beginning of the end. But agreed, Hansen's record with Wales was poor.
Mark, do you think anyone besides journos care about how coaches treat the media? It's as bad as the the herald making the election about the "teapot scandal" rather than issues NZers care about.
What's the big deal about Hansen or any other coach? (May be a good idea to hire a coach that can speak English and has a wide vocabulary. Henry's four 'astonishing's' on being interviewed after the RWC final was classic NZ-tongue-tied-speak) never to be repeated, let's hope. Even the foreign managers in top English soccer speak better English than Henry or Hansen, well, than most NZers!). What I mean to say, like, er ah um, is what I want to say like, astonishingly, er ah um, is get a life guys in summer and er ah um go down to the beach or like astonishingly watch a bit of um cricket! Merry Xmas er ah um all!
World champions. BOOM.
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at last the NZRU have got a bit of sense - firstly in 2007 by reappointing Ted, Smithy and Shag. Now in 2011 for reappointing Shag. Now hansen is not a universally liked person but if you ask his players, especially the forwards, where lets face it the really big test matches are always won - they endorse him full heartedly. The real coup in this coaching setup is the appointment by Shag of the widely respected, well tarvalled and highly experienced Grant Fox - they may say that his role is essentially as an independent "selector" but he will be much much more than that - his vision and appreciation of the modern game, its tends and what is happening in the moment is unparralled - Hansen is canny, he knows this and Foxy will bring technical and tactical nous to the table. Fossie and Aussie bring well honed coaching careers to the mix - cunning operators who have learnt the politics and man mangement side of running a modern rugby team over a long period of time - no "jonny come lately, non- apprenticed wonders" like Martin Johnson. They have developed in the cut throat atmosphere of the NZ system where you sink or swim. They may surprise everyone. NZ and the All Blacks have always had that production line of talent; they may well have the best coaching/selecting setup as well