Hansen right not to play favourites
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen raised some eyebrows with his remark on Tuesday about the Wallabies being ‘‘worthy favourites’’ for the first Bledisloe test on Saturday week.
But as with much of what Hansen says, there is an element of truth underneath the headline. Whether he believes what he said is immaterial – what is of more consequence is the message it conveys, to players, his coaches, even himself.
Coach well, select well, prepare well and play well – or the All Blacks will lose.
That’s accurate. In fact, it’s bang on the money in terms of assessing where this All Blacks side sits: they’re good, but they are not so good they can’t lose to the Wallabies.
Take away the first half of last year’s opening Bledisloe test in Sydney, when the Wallabies were asleep, and Australia outscored New Zealand over the next five halves of the Bledisloe series by 80-67.
Domination at Super Rugby equates to domination at test level? It didn’t last year.
And you don’t have to go back a year to find an All Blacks performance that had its imperfections.
The All Blacks declared themselves happy with their progress after the France series in June but the body language in the coaching box did not exactly convey contentment with all they were seeing.
Remember, the standards they set themselves internally will be far higher than what would keep most fans happy.
There are other question marks.
Hansen has pointed out that Kieran Read’s pace isn’t quite where he’d like it to be.
It’s a hard assessment, given Read’s excellent return for the Crusaders but Hansen would no doubt sit you down and make you watch the clip of Lions wing Ruan Combrinck beating Read last Saturday and say: ‘‘There you go.’’
Other big names are short on game time. Joe Moody can’t help picking up knocks. Sam Cane looked well below his best at the end of the Chiefs’ season.
Then there is the Beauden Barrett v Richie Mo’unga debate.
Let’s face it: this discussion doesn’t even exist if Barrett was playing well. He isn’t and Mo’unga is.
Forget about all the noise, parochialism and emotion around this debate. That’s it in a nutshell.
Also, there are the Wallabies. The Highlanders players will go into the All Blacks camp with some lessons from their Super Rugby exit at the hands of the Waratahs.
The men from Dunedin were in total control in the first half but Waisake Naholo’s yellow card opened the door for the Waratahs and Israel Folau and Kurtley Beale piled through it. They can hurt you and they don’t need much of an invitation to do it.
Of course, answering questions is traditionally what the All Blacks do.
If you were to ask, ‘‘What sets New Zealand players and coaches apart?’’ the answer would be simple: ‘‘They find solutions.’’
It is why even Mo’unga fans – and this columnist is one of them – should expect a response from Barrett in Sydney.
It is also why the bookies have the All Blacks as strong favourites for the first test.
But before you call the medics to ascertain Hansen’s mental state, think about what he is really saying: If the All Blacks don’t meet their own standards in their preparation or on the night, the Bledisloe opener can quickly go bad.