Steve Hansen’s muted response

Former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen has labelled the commentary of Monday’s All Blacks-Scotland test a ‘‘disgrace’’, saying he ended up watching the game on mute. Hansen appeared on

sport podcast, The Podium, hours after the All Blacks’ 31-23 win over Scotland. He gave his views on the patchy win by Ian Foster’s side, the Black Ferns’ ‘‘special’’ World Cup final victory over England and how proud he was of daughter Whitney’s role in the team’s coaching staff.

The commentators at Murrayfield, as well as mauls, came in for harsh criticism from the former All Blacks coach.

‘‘I found listening to the commentators last night a disgrace, the way they were talking about the players and the game, in the end I just turned it off and watched it in silence,’’ Hansen said.

‘‘At the beginning when we scored, we’re 14-0 up or whatever it was and [they’re saying] everyone is playing like champions and [then when Scotland came back] they’re into them.’’

Hansen says the level of scrutiny is one of the ‘‘differences’’ between the men’s and women’s game.

‘‘This wouldn’t happen in the women’s game and we’ve lost our way in the men’s game when it comes to how we watch it and commentate on it.

‘‘If we could change some that it would be great because we all take the lead off the people giving the messages.’’

Hansen believed Black Ferns stars such as Ruby Tui were comfortable showing their personalities as a result of reduced scrutiny.

‘‘It [the women’s game] hasn’t been tarred by expectation and scrutiny like the men’s game has, that’s tradition, it’s years and years of the All Blacks being successful. We have this massive expectation that they win when we go and watch the game.

‘‘Whereas for the girls you’re going for the occasion and while you still want them to win, that same expectation is not there and that same scrutiny is not there.

‘‘So they get to relax and be themselves – none of them have got their walls up because they have never been punished for having them down and being themselves, it’s the big difference between the two games and long may it last for them.’’

Hansen called for administrators to preserve ‘‘the old way of rugby’’ in the women’s game. They should also look at changing rules around the maul after both teams in the final used lineout drives to score several tries.

‘‘Six tries in the final of a world tournament through throwing the ball into the lineout and mauling tells you it’s too easy to do it, it’s very hard to defend them,’’ he said.

‘‘We scored two ourselves, you can’t blame England for doing it, you can’t blame New Zealand for doing it, I think they need to change the rules a little bit.’’

Hansen also defended his successor as All Blacks coach, saying Foster had been brave to give younger players opportunities against Scotland with the narrow margin coming as no surprise.

‘‘Probably the last four or five times we’ve played them, they’ve been tremendous battles,’’ he said.

‘‘The All Blacks showed a lot of composure.’’

Saturday night’s Rugby World Cup final between the Black Ferns and England was the biggest women’s game New Zealand has seen, drawing a crowd of 42,579 to Eden Park in Auckland.

But what comes next is set to be a return to the grassroots, when the second season of Super Rugby Aupiki kicks off at Levin Domain– a venue that can hold around 5000 people.

The Hurricanes Poua and Chiefs Manawa, the defending champions, are set to start an extended five-week competition there on February 25 next year.

But while it makes for quite a contrast, Black Ferns loose forward Sarah Hirini, Poua captain in their inaugural season, said Levin Domain would be ‘‘a great venue’’ for a match that will double as a celebration of New Zealand’s history-making World Cup efforts.

‘‘Being able to share it with our smaller provinces is really special for us,’’ Hirini said at Sunday’s celebration event for the Black Ferns in downtown Auckland.

‘‘We’ve lost our way in the men’s game when it comes to how we watch it and commentate on it.’’ Steve Hansen