Very good but not the greatest

Steve Hansen has done a great job as All Blacks coach, but let’s hold off lauding him as the best just yet. Hansen’s winning percentage is unquestionable, but there is much more to being the best coach than that.

When judging the performance of a coach there are many factors we have to take into account, including the state of the team when they took over, the state of other international sides and the quality of players available.

On my ratings, Hansen still sits behind his predecessor Graham Henry and the late Fred Allen in that regard.

Much like it is tough to rank players from the professional-era and amateur-era side-by-side, it is a similar story for coaches.

The resources available to Hansen are far superior to what Allen had during his tenure.

Allen, for the record, coached the All Blacks from 1966-68 including 14 tests. Under his guidance, the All Blacks never lost a test.

During Allen’s time, shorter terms of services were common for All Blacks coaches – in fact, it took until Brian Lochore in 1985-87 to knock Allen off his perch as the second longest-tenured All Blacks coach in their history (by number of tests).

We have to take into account that Hansen was handed a team in a strong position.

They were coming off winning the 2011 Rugby World Cup and had most of their key players hanging around. He also had the advantage of continuity, having served as assistant for the four years prior.

It was much different when Henry took over in 2004 with a high turnover of top-line players and a significantly different approach to team structures and selection from previous coach John Mitchell.

He had to rebuild the team, from the players through to its culture.

Henry righted the course and got things on track for Hansen.

When it comes down to it, the best way to answer the question of if Hansen is the best coach is to ask if you transplanted another coach into the All Blacks from 2012-2016, would they have had the same success as Hansen?

There is nothing to make me believe that Henry would not have duplicated Hansen’s success had he stuck around. And would there have been a drop off if Warren Gatland or Dave Rennie were in the hot seat? Probably not.

Make no mistake, what Hansen has achieved is remarkable.

The biggest test in his tenure could be this season and the way he has handled the departure of a swag of senior players. But in saying that, he had plenty of time to prepare for the likes of Richie Mccaw and Dan Carter retiring and had some impressive young players to call on.

I will always be reluctant to label an active coach with the greatest tag.

What if, while highly unlikely, the All Blacks’ machine comes crashing back down to earth in the next three years?

Until the job is done, my thoughts on Hansen will remain the same: He is among the greats, but he is not yet the best.