Positive mindset key to World Cup chances, says Hansen
The All Blacks’ meticulous planning for the unexpected — put into operation over the weekend when their flight to Argentina was delayed for nearly 24 hours until yesterday — extends to next year’s World Cup and the near certainty that they will be described as “chokers”.
Coach Steve Hansen brought up the description in an interview broadcast on Radio Sport yesterday in describing how not getting bogged down in a negative mindset will be crucial if the All Blacks are to make history in not only winning back-toback titles, but also winning the William Webb Ellis trophy overseas for the first time.
“If we go to this next World Cup expecting the unexpected to happen and we plan for that then we’re going to be in pretty good shape,” Hansen said. “We know there’s going to be plenty of people talking about how we’re chokers, we’ve never won [a World Cup] offshore.
“We know that, so if you expect to hear it, it doesn’t drive you into that negative frame of mind [of] ‘Oh well, if no one else has done it we can’t do it’.
“What we’re attempting to do is something no one has ever done and that’s win back-to-back World Cups. No other All Black side has ever won a World Cup off New Zealand soil but that doesn’t mean to say it can’t happen.
“One thing I know is if we go to the World Cup in 2015 expecting to win it we’ll get beaten. We’ve got to go there with the attitude that we’ve got to take the World Cup by the scruff of the neck. We’ve got to earn the right to take it rather than expect everyone to lie down, because they won’t.”
Hansen’s insight into the mindset the All Blacks want to take into the tournament came after his predecessor Graham Henry said a defeat might do the team good in terms of its development.
Hansen, Henry’s assistant at the 2011 World Cup, said an honest assessment of the team — both in terms of game day and preparation — could be just as valuable.
“You find the inconvenient facts, so to speak, a lot easier when you’re hurting,” Hansen said. “But what we’ve tried to do over the last few years is find those things that make a difference to your performance when you’re winning, so you don’t have to lose.”
Hansen, who has lost only one test with the All Blacks, said he didn’t dwell on his successful record, but he did dwell on poor performances.
“I’ve sat and thought about the ones we haven’t played well in. They’re the ones that frustrate me, whether we’ve won them or lost them, they’re frustrating games because you want to play well all the time.”
The All Blacks’ second tour party, including Hansen, left Auckland for Buenos Aires yesterday. Victory over the Pumas at La Plata next Sunday will almost certainly wrap up the Rugby Championship ahead of the crunch test against South Africa in Johannesburg.