Off the planet

If, according to the book, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus — then Steve Hansen must be from Pluto. Well, he’s in Disneyland at least . . . The All Blacks coach is reported to be “livid” that his comments about Michael Cheika — calling him Mickey Mouse at a private dinner — were leaked to the media. The background: When it was suggested to Hansen by Mark Ella that Mickey Mouse could coach the All Blacks, Hansen replied “they've got Mickey Mouse coaching Aussie”. It’s a funny piece of repartee if not a little close to the bone given Cheika’s previous unhappiness with a certain cartoon in this newspaper in 2016 where he was depicted as a clown. Instead of leaving it there, Hansen went on to offer Cheika some free counselling, suggesting he needed to control his emotions. And now Hansen is the one who’s upset his comments are being reported. As if you can be an All Blacks coach for umpteen years and not realise everything’s fair game? And, if you’re going to dish out life lessons on emotional control to a guy who at least brings passion to the game, then it’s best to be in control of your own mind-mouth combination. Better still, flush the dunny and move on . . .