Hope springs eternal as Steve Hansen announces he will step down as All Blacks coach
Rugby union fans in the Northern and parts of the Southern hemispheres would have woken up with a spring in their step on Friday the 14th of December after news came in from across the Tasman that Steve Hansen had decided to step down as All Blacks coach after the 2019 World Cup in Japan. Many will hope that Hansen’s departure will signal the beginning of the end for the All Blacks and the dominance that they have enjoyed over world rugby since 2011.
World rugby has been entirely dominated by Hansen and his troops since 2011 after he took over from outgoing coach Sir Graham Henry. The success New Zealand have enjoyed was a long time coming and certainly didn’t happen overnight. In fact, Henry and Hansen were made the head coach and assistant back in 2003 after John Mitchell was fired following a defeat to Australia in the semi-final of the World Cup.
Steve Hansen was Henry’s assistant up until 2011 but how different things could have been had the administrators running New Zealand Rugby fired them after a quarter-final exit to France in the 2007 World Cup. Instead, they kept the faith and have been rewarded as both Henry and Hansen have built a legacy for the All Blacks that is unlikely to be eclipsed by any other international team or, at the very least, not for an extremely long time to come still.
“After being involved in the All Blacks for 16 years, I feel it’s right for the team for me to stand down. I think change after the Rugby World Cup will bring a new outlook for the team and it’ll be time for someone else to enhance the legacy of the All Blacks.” – Steve Hansen. pic.twitter.com/cwfMpBmFKz
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) December 13, 2018
It has been all Steve Hansen since 2011 and his record as All Blacks coach makes for quite staggering reading. In 96 tests, Hansen has overseen only eight defeats and currently has a win ratio of 88.5%. Under the 59-year-olds guidance, the All Blacks have won six of the seven Rugby Championships they have competed in as well as being the first team to retain the Webb Ellis Cup and the first All Blacks team to win the World Cup away from home.
What is even more amazing is that their style of rugby has never been compromised once whilst traveling the world and enjoying their unprecedented success. That’s not to say they haven’t adapted to see games out or dug in to get a result over the line, of course, they have, that is just the fierce competitive streak that runs in every All Black player naturally kicking in. However, the array of skills that the world has been treated to is nothing like we have ever seen before with a focus on powerful running rugby coupled with freakish ball handling under immense pressure.
There will only be one thing on Hansen’s mind now and that is winning the 2019 World Cup. In the latest rugby union odds, the All Blacks are favourites at 11/10 but they may not have it all their own way in Japan next year.
There have been whispers that the reason a new contract wasn’t already being negotiated with Hansen was that the All Blacks had this year showed signs of weakness not seen for many a moon. A loss to the ever-improving Springboks at home and a defeat to Ireland in Dublin has been rumoured as the reason Hansen wasn’t asked to sign anything yet.
All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has confirmed he will step down after the 2019 Rugby World Cup ⚫️
• World Cup winner
• Six-time Rugby Chamionship winner
• World Rugby Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016Big shoes to fill… 👀 pic.twitter.com/UWii86ZGlS
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) December 13, 2018
That does seem a bit cynical without being officially confirmed after all Hansen has done during his reign as coach. We will all have to wait for his autobiography when it comes out but one thing is for sure and that is we are approaching the end of one of the greatest spells as a coach world rugby has ever seen or may ever see again.
