Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE WHOLE WORLD WANTS YOUR LIONS TO KNOCK US OFF OUR PERCH
Hansen admits rugby fans are ‘sick of the All Blacks winning everything’
STEVE HANSEN knows only too well what is at stake when the Lions come calling this Saturday. “The whole world of rugby is pretty excited,” said the Kiwi boss. “They’re thinking, ‘Right, here we go, they’re going to knock the All Blacks off their perch’.” The All Blacks describe themselves as “not only the most successful international rugby team of all time but also one of the most successful teams in world sport”. Under Hansen they have won 64 of 71 Tests, losing just five, and are reigning world champions. None of which will spare the boss if they come out on the wrong side of this death-or-glory mission. “If that happens, there’ll be a hell of a lot of people excited because they’ve got sick of us winning,” he said. “That’s the reality, whether we like it or not.” Hansen, 58, understands that in his job success breeds expectation like no other. “In 2015 we won the World Cup but then it was, ‘OK, you’ve got to win next year too’,” he recalled. “You get only a wee moment to either sulk or celebrate. There’s an expectation in this country that you keep moving, an expectation that we’re good at what we do. “We understand that, so it doesn’t become a burden, it actually becomes a challenge. “But there’s more competition out there than people understand. We’re in a series against four countries at the moment. Four good countries. It’s tough.” The last time the All Blacks lost a match of the magnitude of Saturday’s series decider was the 2007 World Cup quarter-final against France. The blame game was brutal, the All Blacks’ response was to win the next two World Cups and be pretty much untouchable for a decade. So now the country awaits a reaction to the loss in Wellington. New Zealand’s America’s Cup triumph deflected attention away from their first home defeat for eight years. But there will be nowhere to hide if the All Blacks lose their 23-year unbeaten record at Eden Park and with it their first Lions series since 1971. Hansen nods. He knows there would be a backlash. But he knows too, from his days as a police officer, that there is more to life than rugby. Even in New Zealand. “That time exposed me to experiences that give you a sense of reality that rugby’s just a game,” he added. “It’s an important game, but still a game and don’t lose sight of that, because there are some real things happening that are a hell of a lot more important. “Life teaches us that all the time. It hurts to lose a game of footie, but it hurts a lot more to lose someone you love or to deal with people who have lost someone they love. “It teaches you to keep it all in perspective – and not get too carried away with yourself.”