Christmas deadline for Hansen
Dublin: Steve Hansen will declare his hand by December 25.
Speculation about who should coach the All Blacks after the 2019 World Cup has escalated since Ireland beat the world champions 16-9 in Dublin on Sunday morning, with the pro-Joe Schmidt brigade saying that if NZ Rugby don’t do everything they can to bring the Kiwi back home it could stand accused of negligence.
But this is a complicated situation. Schmidt has yet to advise the Ireland Rugby Football Union whether he wants to stick with them beyond the World Cup in Japan. He will make his decision before the end of the month. There is no guarantee All Blacks coach Hansen, whose contract with NZ Rugby ends after the global tournament, will retire after the event but he is clearly intent on making his mind up after the northern tour.
“I decided before I left [New Zealand] I was going to make one,” he reiterated on Sunday. “And I will do that when I get home at some stage, before Christmas.”
If Hansen wants to stay, NZ Rugby have several options. They could note his successes with the national side, the All Blacks have won around 90 per cent of their games under Hansen since 2012, and offer him a contract renewal.
Or they could go through an interview process and place the top applicants on a short list.
There shouldn’t be a paucity of quality replacements available if Hansen retires. Schmidt is clearly among the front runners, if interested, but All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster, who has worked under Hansen since 2012 and plays a big role in coaching the side, could also have the support of those inside NZ Rugby’s inner sanctum. Wales coach Warren Gatland is off contract after the World Cup, but has yet to declare a desire to coach the All Blacks. Former Scotland coach Vern Cotter, currently coaching in France, had an interview for the All Blacks job after the 2011 World Cup but it was an open secret Hansen was going to be elevated to the top post.
Hansen, 59, said he isn’t interested in coaching another country in the immediate future. Rather than chase a high-profile job elsewhere, he would prefer to stay in New Zealand if he wanted to keep coaching.