Rugby World Cup Jones and Hansen still texting each other as semi-final looms
Old friends swap texts ahead of semi-final clash All Blacks coach fears ‘desperate’ opponents
Eddie Jones and Steve Hansen, the All Blacks head coach, may be renowned for their verbal jousting in the build-up to high-profile Test matches, but it seems the pair are preferring to kill each other with kindness ahead of England’s World Cup semi-final at the Yokohama Stadium on Saturday.
Jones began the love-in on Sunday when he described New Zealand as “the greatest team there has ever been in sport” and Hansen has repaid the compliment to the England head coach, revealing their close friendship had included sending text messages to each other after their quarter-final victories.
This is no fake news. Jones may enjoy a spiky relationship with several leading international coaches, but his admiration for Hansen is genuine, stretching back to 1999 when the pair first went head-tohead as coaches of Super Rugby sides the Brumbies and Crusaders respectively.
That was the year when England last met New Zealand in the World Cup, and over the next 20 years, as their coaching paths have followed differing routes, their respect for each other has grown.
Their relationship has deepened to the extent that now, as they face each other in what Jones describes as “the most exciting week” of his career, there will be no verbal grenades, only admiration.
“He’s a good bloke, to start with,” said Jones of his opposite number. “Secondly, he’s got a great record. Super Rugby with the Crusaders when we started coaching against each other, followed by Wales followed by New Zealand. You don’t get a better record than that.
“Having a respectful relationship is important in the game. The things that happen in this tournament don’t happen in other sports. You’ve got the Canadian and Namibian blokes cleaning up the ground.
“Could you imagine Ronaldo or Messi doing that if Barcelona or Real Madrid gets a wash? It’s a different game. And that’s why I think relationships with players, with coaches and with fans, is so important in our game.”
Hansen holds the edge over Jones in their head-to-head record, having won six of eight games against the Australian since 1999. But the New Zealander respects the job Jones has done with England, including equalling the All Blacks’
world record of 18 successive Test victories in 2017.
The pair have locked horns only once since Jones took the England job following the 2015 World Cup, when New Zealand won 16-15 at Twickenham last November.
“Eddie loves the game,” said Hansen. “He’s got a work ethic second to none. He put himself in hospital [when he suffered from a stroke in 2013 when Japan head coach], he had worked that hard.
“He just loves the game and anyone who loves the game gets my support. And you don’t win 18 Test matches in a row without being a good team and the team that did that is basically the team he’s got here. They’re playing good footy, so they’ll be confident, as we will be.”
Hansen revealed the pair texted each other after their wins against Australia and Ireland.
“I said the same thing as he did: ‘Looking forward to seeing you and win, lose or draw, we’ll have a beer afterwards.’
“It’s a game of footy; it’s not life or death. It’s like when you play against your brother or sister. It’s important, but it’s not life-threatening. Some of the banter is really only to help promote the game as being, ‘Cor, these guys don’t like each other’, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Those of us that have been around for long enough understand the game is bigger than everybody.
“Eddie’s done a fantastic job with England. They’ve got a world record for the most-successive wins in Tests along with ourselves. They’ve got a harder edge.
“He’s been part of a winning World Cup team with South Africa [as part of Jake White’s coaching staff in 2007], he’s had the disappointment of losing to England when he was coaching Australia, but to get to the final is being successful anyway.
“He’s got the ability to understand what’s coming and he’ll share those with his coaching and playing groups.”
Eight players in Jones’s squad have defeated New Zealand, in 2012 under former head coach Stuart Lancaster.
Fourteen of the squad, however, were also part of the Lions squad who, in 2017, became the first side to win in Wellington for 14 years.
Hansen admits that despite his side’s overwhelming victory over Ireland in the quarter-finals, the All Blacks know they will be in a contest on Saturday against a highly dangerous England outfit.
“England are a very good rugby side,” Hansen added. “They’ve come to this tournament after being hurt at the last one and through that adversity, I think they’re stronger.
“They’re desperate and they’re well coached. It’s going to be a mighty clash and we’re looking forward to it.
“History is important, but it doesn’t dictate the future. It’s a clean slate; it doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past.
“Attack wins games, but so does defence – it’s a two-edged sword. I did watch the first part of the England-australia game and Australia hammered, hammered and hammered and got no success and when you get no success, you can get frustrated.
“We can’t afford to get frustrated. If we’re not having success, we’ve just got to keep building the momentum and pressure until we do.”