Hansen mum as replacement search gets under way
Steve Hansen will not be part of the search for his successor as All Blacks coach and he notably stopped short of endorsing his assistant Ian Foster for the job he will vacate after next year’s World Cup.
After Hansen signalled the pending end of his 16-year involvement with the All Blacks post-Japan with two simple words, ‘‘I’m going’’, at a specially convened press conference in Auckland yesterday, thoughts immediately turned to the quest for his replacement.
Both New Zealand Rugby board chairman Brent Impey and chief executive Steve Tew, who sat either side of an emotional Hansen at his announcement, emphasised they would take all the time they needed to find the right person, and confirmed the official process would not begin until after the World Cup.
‘‘All potential candidates we have relationships with, so they will now all know . . . I don’t think we’ll need to put an advertisement on Seek for the gig,’’ said Impey. ‘‘We will be talking to them and the proper process will start after the World Cup. We have made a very deliberate move that we’re not going to engage in the formal process while we’ve got the runway through to the end of Tokyo.’’
Tew also bristled at a suggestion from Stuff that they had lost their preferred candidate with Ireland coach Joe Schmidt recently confirming he would be taking a break to spend time with his family after Japan next year.
‘‘We’ve been talking to a lot of people,’’ he said. ‘‘You might have labelled someone our ‘preferred’ candidate, but we haven’t done that. There will be a process that will be very contestable and there will be a number of people put their hands up because of what Steve’s done in the last 16 years. It’s a great job.’’
Foster, who has been Hansen’s No 2 throughout his head coaching tenure, is one of the leading contenders to step into the top role, alongside successful Crusaders mentor Scott Robertson, and offshore-based Kiwis such as Dave Rennie, Vern Cotter and Warren Gatland.
Schmidt’s situation is a delicate one. Despite Tew’s protestations, he would be their ideal successor, given his remarkable track record with Ireland. But they also respect his family situation, and understand they may need to find a compromise to allow him to be part of the All Blacks setup.
Hansen gave Foster a glowing report at his press conference, but was not prepared to go as far as to endorse his oft-criticised No 2 as his successor.
‘‘I think he’d be a great head coach,’’ Hansen said of Foster. ‘‘He’s developed as a coach, and as a man. He’s got some great qualities, and his understanding of the game is great. But I don’t think it’s right I sit here and say this guy should do the job or that guy should do the job. That’s the Rugby Union’s job. I’ve got my opinions, but for one of the very few times in my life I’ll probably keep that to myself because I don’t think it’s right for the process.’’
Tew said he ‘‘doubted’’ Hansen would be involved in the formal process for appointing the next All Blacks coach, but added ‘‘I’m picking we’ll get some advice’’.
Hansen did have a view on the theory that you needed offshore experience to take on the All Blacks role.
Both Hansen and Sir Graham Henry had coached Wales prior to taking on the job, but New Zealand’s most accomplished young coach, Robertson, has yet to log experience overseas.
‘‘If you get the right person it doesn’t matter what they’ve done,’’ Hansen said. ‘‘I hear you guys go on about that a fair bit, you haven’t coached overseas or you haven’t done anything in Super Rugby.
‘‘The best coach in the world at the moment in Joe Schmidt, World Rugby’s choice, he lost his job at the Blues, yet he’s developed and grown to become an outstanding coach.
‘‘I hear things about Fozzie [Foster], that he didn’t win anything at the Chiefs, but that’s because the Crusaders were winning everything at the time. Those things are irrelevant.
‘‘I go back to my own career. I’ve got both records: I’ve lost the most tests in a row and won the most. One day I’m a poor coach and another I’m a great coach. Things change and you evolve. You’ve just got to trust the process and trust [NZ Rugby] will do what’s right for the team.’’
Tew also hinted that Hansen’s intellectual property might not be lost to New Zealand Rugby after 2019.
‘‘Whenever you lose someone that’s been around for a long time there’s a desire to protect what they know and make sure it doesn’t go somewhere else,’’ the NZ Rugby boss said. ‘‘Steve has been very strong on growing people around him and the succession process inside that team is well advanced.
‘‘We’ve left that conversation till after Rugby World Cup, then we’ll come back to it.’’