An interview with a very excited Steve Hansen
If I’d actually managed to talk to All Blacks coach Steve Hansen before tonight’s big game, it might have gone something like this.
Kia ora, Steve. Well, this is going to be a real test for the boys first up. How are you feeling with the pressure and all that?
Hello, VB. Pressure is pressure and every team here will feel it because it’s the World Cup. Pressure can affect teams in different ways and we have plenty of experience of feeling the pressure when other teams might not. I’m feeling the pressure because as you can see I’m tapping my index finger on the desk here which is something I don’t normally do.
Pressure is something that’s part of the game at this level and you just have to deal with it and focus on the things you can change and not on the things you can’t. We try not to get too stressed out but there’s no doubt we are feeling a bit of the pressure.
It’s been such a big buildup and all the world is looking at the All Blacks for the hat-trick, so just how excited are you?
Very excited, really excited. In fact quite excited. If you are listening carefully you will notice my voice rising just ever so slightly and my eyes showing just a hint of passion and spark. My face is also moving a little more than usual so, yes, I am excited.
I might even be moving the position of my seating posture to express the boundless excitement I am feeling. We know the whole country is watching and we won’t forget that.
Great, Steve, so what have you done to prepare the team, especially for this match?
Well, VB, we know the Boks are always going to be tough at a tournament like this. We’ve done a lot of good work this week and I’ve been happy with the training. The aim has been to improve on little things and big things and sharpen up. Yeah, we’ve been training hard and we’ll be going into this match to win, as will the Springboks.
But someone has to lose and we think we’ve done the work to make sure it isn’t us. So the boys have been out on the paddock and really getting into it and they won’t be taking any prisoners or leaving anything on the pitch.
Terrific, Steve. I know you won’t be wanting to share too many secrets before the match but can you give us a clue about how you want the boys to play this game?
We’ll go out there with a positive attitude just wanting to enjoy the occasion and play some good footy. We’ve gone for a big mobile team and they all know what we expect, from the set-pieces to the kicking game. I don’t want to say too much but we’ll be looking to move the ball and keep hold of it.
There won’t be any easy points because there will be 30 quality players out there and we won’t be asking for any favours.
How much better do you think the All Blacks are compared to the last time they played the Springboks?
To be honest, VB, I think we have improved because that’s what happens when you train together for a long time with expert staff, modern medicine and a support team that would fill a 747.
But the Boks will have improved as well and I don’t know what Rassie has up his sleeve but we will be more than ready.
You can see from my hang-dog look that I’m not taking the Boks lightly and you wouldn’t want to be underdone going into a match like this.
But really I’m concentrating on our team and making sure we meet our goals.
You must be worried about your big names getting injured at this early stage?
You know, VB, you roll the dice and hope everyone comes through OK. But injuries are a part of the game and it’s always disappointing if someone is badly hurt and can’t play but we chose the team with that in mind and we know we can always put a quality 15 on the park.
It’s the old story of no-one being indispensable – even me. That’s a joke by the way, VB. You can tell from my face if you look carefully.
This is your last World Cup, what do you hope your legacy will be?
I hope I will be remembered as somebody who didn’t get too excited even when I was excited. I like to think of it as deadpan excitement which is very similar to not being excited at all. I hope people will also remember me as someone who could always be depended on to say the obvious in a sort of interesting way that didn’t make it seem so obvious.
I set some goals for myself early on and I have tried to honour them, like I expect the All Blacks to honour the goals I set for them. Low-key excitement, a hang-dog expression and saying the obvious.
It’s been tough sometimes. But then nothing worthwhile is easy.