Hansen and
It’s been a long time coming, but former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen has finally unloaded over the controversial reversed penalty that cost his side a shot at a series victory over the British and Irish Lions in 2017.
Hansen is the inaugural interview with former Black Cap and newly anointed Bert Sutcliffe Medal winner Ian Smith on his new show The Pod on Sky Sport last night, and he does not disappoint if the teaser released on the broadcaster’s social media channels is anything to go by.
The long-time All Blacks coach, who ended a 16-year association with the team at the end of last year’s disappointing World Cup campaign in Japan, has unloaded on World Rugby’s lack of what he deemed an appropriate response to the referee howler that ultimately decided the series.
A riveting, and controversial, series ended locked at 1-1 when the deciding third test at Eden Park finished in a 15-15 draw in contentious circumstances.
Referee Romain Poite’s 78thminute decision effectively decided the contest when he changed, under video review, a penalty to the All Blacks from a spot handy to the posts to a scrum for accidental offside. At the time the contest was poised at 15-15.
He had initially awarded a penalty when Lions hooker Ken Owens, from an offside position, played at a ball that came off fullback Liam Williams in the air. The Lions player appeared to give himself up as the transgressor at the time.
But Poite was then persuaded to go to the TMO to review the call and ultimately changed his decision, despite there apparently being no evidence for him to do so. At the time Hansen refused to condemn the decision and would not buy into any direct criticism of it when asked by media. Even since his retirement he had seemed reluctant to point any fingers, saying in one recent interview the decision had been ‘‘frustrating’’ because it ‘‘was so obvious to everybody, but no one wanted to admit to it’’.
But Hansen has told Smith in the first show of his new series that he was most disappointed