Sir Steve Hansen: New NZ Rugby board ‘can’t be questioned’ after ‘best ever’ process to appoint an All Black coach
Ex-All Blacks head coach Sir Steve Hansen and an inset of NZ Rugby Chair David Kirk.
The new NZ Rugby board has received glowing praise from former All Blacks head coach Sir Steve Hansen for the way it handled Scott Robertson’s departure and the hiring of Dave Rennie as his successor.
The decision to part ways with Robertson shocked the rugby world earlier this year with reports emerging of a player revolt against the coach which have been repeatedly denied by the organisation.
NZ Rugby Chair David Kirk did reveal that the call was made because the All Blacks ‘weren’t on track’ for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, with the union then launching an extensive process to appoint his successor.
Strict requirements were laid out for potential applicants as prospective candidates needed to have prior international head coaching experience and be a New Zealander, which ultimately led to the whittling down of the two frontrunners in Jamie Joseph and Rennie, with the latter getting the nod.
The process that led to the former Wallabies boss’ appointment included a selection panel that included two former All Blacks, Dane Coles and Keven Mealamu, NZR head of high performance Don Tricker, and acting NZR chief executive Steve Lancaster.
Coles and Lancaster spent a week in the Highlanders and Kobe Steelers camps to see how Joseph and Rennie operate, while the two coaches were also subjected to a lengthy in-person interview.
Steve Hansen on All Blacks’ coaching saga
Overall, it was a prolonged process with the NZ Rugby board taking from early December to mid-January to decide Robertson’s fate with his successor only named in early March.
The previous NZ Rugby board fronted a ton of criticism over their handling of Ian Foster, who refused to reapply for his role before the 2023 Rugby World Cup, before it was revealed that Robertson would take over in 2024. But Hansen has praised the new board’s process leading to Rennie’s hiring.
“Yeah, look, the whole saga of changing the coaches is sad for the coach who has been changed, but that process can’t be questioned,” he said on the DSPN Podcast with Martin Devlin. “I think again it was great leadership by the rugby union.
“They’ve done a process that has made it really clear what needs to happen. They were strong enough then to make the decision to make it happen, and then they went through an appointment process, which was just as great as, probably, the best process we’ve ever had to appoint an All Black coach.”
Rennie has now confirmed his full coaching team with only Jason Ryan remaining on NZ Rugby’s payroll from the Robertson regime while the new head coach has also welcomed the return of Gilbert Enoka as the team’s mental skills coach and manager, who worked closely with Hansen through his tenure.
“So, we’ve now got a group of people that are in there; we need as a country to get behind them and support them. We’ve got the talent,” Hansen continued.
“Seeing Gilbert back in there is wonderful. If we can excite that group and get them aligned to a point where they really understand how they want to play, what’s acceptable, what isn’t, then I think you’ll see a big shift in performance. That’s what we’ve seen in the past: some All Blacks teams have been great, some have been poor, but then all of a sudden they bounce back and become great again.
“Dave and his crew have got an opportunity to put their stamp on it. He’s a smart man, and he’s had a lot of success in the teams he has coached, which I think is a reflection of what they’re doing. It won’t be just him; he will be smart enough to use everybody, and that’ll excite the players. And once you get your players excited and wanting to be there, all of a sudden, anything can happen because the talent, I believe, is there.”
Personnel and attitude change
Devlin pressed for more clarity on why Hansen was so impressed with the new board running New Zealand Rugby, asking whether the administration change was about the individual people, or whether it’s an attitudinal change, or a combination.
“It’s a combination of both because individual people have brought a change in attitude,” he replied.
“On the back of a lot of success, we got quite commercialised, and we forgot about the game. That’s my humble opinion.
“I think the administrators in there now understand that we don’t have commercial opportunities if we don’t have a team or teams that are producing a type of rugby that excites not only New Zealanders but the rest of the people around the world.”
