Hansen: Spend money to make it
Unlike the secrecy surrounding former United States Air Force base Area 51 – Steve Hansen is only too happy to reveal all of the perceived secrets around the All Blacks’ 51.
Hansen was at pains to dispel the cynics and conspiracy theories soon after 51 names were read out by New Zealand Rugby’s chairman Brent Impey yesterday.
Among the more than half century of names for the northern tour to Japan and Europe there are two clear squads.
In his justification spiel, Hansen was quick to point out the All Blacks won’t be carting 51 players around for the duration of the tour.
The main squad of 32 will head to Japan to play a dead-rubber Bledisloe test against Australia on October 27. Following that match, 22 of the squad will head to London to prepare to tackle England on November 11.
Ten of the 32-man squad will stay in Japan where they will be joined by a secondary squad of 19 players – who will travel following the Mitre 10 Premiership and Championship finals – for a test against Japan.
‘‘It’s only for four days that we’re going to have 51 players,’’ Hansen said.
Barring injuries in the 32-man squad, the 19 players in the secondary squad will return to New Zealand following the Japan test.
The 10 players from the 32-man squad who remained in Japan will link up with the rest of the team in London for test matches against England, Ireland and Italy.
With the beginning of the 2019 World Cup less than 12 months away, not flogging the core group of players with five tests in five weeks is clearly one of the main motives for the super-sized naming of two squads.
‘‘We go around the world twice and play seven test matches in nine weeks, with about 11 or 12 time changes. So that knocks the body around,’’ Hansen said.
Carrying two squads means the All Blacks team to play England will have a full week and a half of preparation in London and Hansen also spoke of wanting to ‘‘have some petrol in the tank’’ for the three test matches in Europe.
Planning towards next year’s World Cup and player development for the inevitable player drain that will come after it are also key factors.
‘‘The idea of naming only 32 – which is one less than last year’s touring group – is to try and simulate, as much as possible, conditions that we’ll face on a selection point of view in Rugby World Cup 2019.
‘‘These guys don’t just develop by sitting at home and sometimes you’ve got to spend money to make money,’’ Hansen said.
Spending money is something the All Blacks will do plenty of on the tour with so many players engaged but Hansen defended the extra cost of the 19 players heading to Japan as the test match is a lucrative opportunity for New Zealand Rugby.
‘‘We’ve got a little bit of wiggle room because Japan was an extra game, it’s a money game, we get paid for that and it’s not coming out of NZ Rugby Union coffers,’’ he said.
The naming of 51 players will hit a nerve with many taxpayers on the back of Hansen hinting at the possibility of financial support from the Government in August.
But he refuted the suggestion the All Blacks were seeking Government funding to play players’ wages or tour expenses.
‘‘Firstly, we’ve asked the Government to be our sponsor and I don’t think that’s a silly thing. I think we’re one of the biggest brands this country’s got and I think that will be a smart play by any Government to sponsor us and use to sell their message,’’ he said.
The split squads have been a long time in planning with All Blacks selector Grant Fox revealing the process started before Christmas.