Steve Hansen defends Wallabies
The questions came at Steve Hansen like machinegun fire. What did he think of the pressure Michael Cheika was under? Are the Wallabies unfit? Are they improving? Will they respond this week?
He dodged a few, but eventually the All Blacks coach felt compelled to weigh in on the subject that continues to hover over the Wallabies like a long dark cloud: are they being crushed to death under the relentless dominance of the All Blacks?
It’s worthy of Hansen’s viewpoint, given the Wallabies haven’t held the Bledisloe Cup since 2002, given they’ve won just four of their last 33 tests against the All Blacks and that last Saturday in Sydney, after an armwrestle first half, it was one-way traffic over the run home.
Since Hansen took the head coaching reins of the All Blacks in 2012, the Wallabies have won just two of 19 tests against New Zealand. Whether anything changes tomorrow night at a soldout Eden Park, when the transtasman rivals lock horns for the second straight week, is doubtful. The All Blacks haven’t lost to anyone at their ‘‘national’’ stadium since 1994, and the Wallabies haven’t won there since 1986.
‘‘I’ve been saying for a wee while, I think they’re a good side. They’re playing the No 1 side in the world and because they lose to us they’re a poor side? That’s probably naive,’’ said Hansen, eventually caving to a volley of Australian questions.
‘‘They played the No 2 side in the world [Ireland] in June and beat them in one test, and the other two weren’t big thumpings. With a wee bit of luck they could have scored three or four tries [last week]. Whilst that game looks dominant on the scoreboard, I don’t think it was that dominant on the park itself. I do think they’re improving.’’
Whether this is just Hansen playing mind games with an opponent he insisted were ‘‘favourites’’ heading into Bledisloe I is hard to judge, but the All Blacks coach’s continued emphasis on the Wallabies as legitimate rivals certainly brings out the best in his team.
Hansen even quoted a Stuff column after Sydney in responding to a question on whether it was a problem for New Zealand that Australian rugby was trending downwards.
‘‘I read somewhere the other day that it’s not our fault if Australia aren’t playing any good, and it’s not our fault that we want to be better every time we play.
‘‘It’s not our problem, but we want Australia to be strong, and we think it is strong. Obviously the patience in Australia is starting to wear thin, because we’ve managed to keep the Bledisloe. You’ve got to understand when these two teams play scoreboards can blow out because both teams are capable of scoring tries.’’
‘‘They’re playing the No 1 side in the world and because they lose to us they’re a poor side? That’s probably naive.’’ Steve Hansen defends the Wallabies