Sir Steve Hansen’s verdict on ex-NRL star compared to Sonny Bill Williams whose All Blacks ambitions are ‘no secret’

Former All Blacks boss Sir Steve Hansen says that it is ‘no secret’ that former rugby league superstar Joey Manu has targeted the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

The 28-year-old is currently plying his trade for the Hansen-coached Toyota Verblitz after signing a year-long deal with the Japanese club.

Manu has previously been compared to Sonny Bill Williams by the New Zealand legend and it appears as though he is hoping to follow in his footsteps by representing the All Blacks.

Manu’s Rugby World Cup hopes

Hansen was appearing on Sport Nation’s Beaver and Guy when 2011 Rugby World Cup winner Stephen Donald spoke about his 2027 prediction for the ex-Sydney Roosters player.

His future remains up in the air given the short-term contract in Japan but Donald reckons that he could be in Scott Robertson’s plans for the next global tournament.

“You probably want to ask Scott Robertson that but there’s no secret that’s what he wants to do. Obviously, he will have to come home and play for the Chiefs, I guess, to do that,” Hansen responded.

“In the meantime, our job is to make him as good as we possibly can and hopefully he can reach that dream.

“In not having any say in who picks the team, well, I can’t say he will make it, but I think he’s a pretty handy footballer.”

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At 28, Manu is not young and other rugby league superstars have tried and failed to achieve their World Cup dream with the All Blacks.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was the same age when he crossed to the 15-a-side code but, despite making three appearances for the All Blacks, he was eventually sidelined by Ian Foster and never made the 2023 World Cup.

Manu will hope he doesn’t succumb to the same fate and Hansen believes that he has progressed nicely since joining Toyota.

‘Massive desire’

“They’re (Williams and Manu) both very, very good athletes and Joey’s got a massive desire to be good in the game of rugby, and he’s picking up things pretty quickly,” he said.

“He’s a naturally gifted athlete, got size, got pace – the same as Sonny did. They’re both good men, I’m very impressed with the character of Joey.

“What you see is what you get and he is really easy to coach. I think he’s in the right place with regards to being away from all the pressure of it and he can just find his feet slowly.

“We haven’t put too much pressure on him but he’s played a lot of the games so he’s obviously playing well enough to be selected. He’s only going to get better as time goes on.”

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