Why we won’t see the likes of Hansen coaching ABs again
There are, apparently, lies, damned lies and statistics. But you can stack the numbers any way you like and still conclude that Steve Hansen is the best coach the All Blacks have had.
Under Hansen, the All Blacks have played 96 tests, winning 85, losing eight and drawing three. That’s a success rate of 88.5 per cent, a stunning achievement in the professional game with all the scrutiny and pressure that comes with it and one that will probably never be beaten.
The late Fred Allen won all 14 tests as All Blacks coach, including the 4-0 sweep over the Lions in 1966, but the European game wasn’t as strong then as it is now and Hansen’s longevity — he’s been in charge since 2012 and had a big hand in the winning of the 2011 World Cup — is another tick in the win column for a man extremely familiar with success.
The losses during Hansen’s tenure have been against Ireland (twice), Australia (twice), South Africa (twice), England and the Lions. The draws were against the Wallabies (twice) and the Lions.
Hansen’s record stands above those of Graham Henry (85 per cent), John Mitchell (82 per cent) and Wayne Smith (70 per cent) in the professional era.
So what has been the recipe for Hansen’s success? How did he help turn around a team known for choking at World Cups to the point where they are now on the verge of going for a third successive triumph?
A bit like rugby itself at times, the answer is both straightforward and a little complicated, but Hansen’s best talent and one that he has always possessed (along with his late father, Des, a good club coach himself and one with a similarly large personality and refined wit), is the ability to spot talent and know when a player is ready to excel at the next level.
Hansen,59, had a huge influence on the 2011 World Cup-winning team alongside Henry, a campaign which ended in an excruciating one-point victory over France in the final which avenged their quarter-final defeat to the same opposition four years earlier, a campaign too which was marked by a vastly improved mental approach from the players and management.
This is another key factor in Hansen’s success.
He is known as a stubborn individual who some might say is happy to lose an argument only if he gets the last word, but he is also willing to change and embrace ideas — including the use of mental skills guru Ceri Evans (which was crucial,
Hansen’s longevity — he’s been in charge since 2012 and helped win the 2011 World Cup — is another tick in the win column for a man extremely familiar with success. Once he’s gone we’ll never see a coach like Steve Hansen again and that’s no lie.
according to Richie McCaw) — which might jar with others.
The 2011 World Cup was characterised by the All Blacks’ “walk towards the pressure” approach, and the one four years later in England and Wales was marked by an “enjoy the moment” stance and the players’ happiness and openness to all (off the field) was real rather than contrived.
They were mostly a joy to be around from a media perspective when the expectation and glare of the spotlight might have sent them in a different direction.
The former freezing worker and policeman who moved with his family from a Mosgiel dairy farm to Christchurch when he was aged 15 can be blunt but also funny.
He doesn’t suffer fools but can show extreme patience, too. He’s not one for moving, but he’s also prepared to change in order to improve himself and help the team, always the team.
He has another year to go, unless he decides to stay on after the World Cup. Either way, once he’s gone we’ll never see a coach like Steve Hansen again and that’s no lie.