Steve Hansen says that ‘ego’ has caused the Trans-Tasman decline
Former All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen coaching in 2023.
Former All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has revealed how he would improve southern hemisphere rugby after the struggles of the past couple of years.
Concerns have been raised over the state of the sport down under following the Wallabies’ Rugby World Cup shocker, while there are still issues with Super Rugby.
Ex-New Zealand international Sir John Kirwan has proclaimed that “the southern hemisphere is broken” and it is a view that Hansen is not veering too far from.
On the basis of the results since the previous World Cup, countries like France and Ireland have caught up and arguably surpassed the south.
South African influence
Their domestic and continental competitions are, in many cases, in a much stronger position than Australia and New Zealand, thanks in part to the South African franchises aligning themselves with the European sides.
The departure of those teams from Super Rugby has no doubt harmed the product and, at the same time, made it more difficult for the All Blacks and Wallabies to prepare for Test rugby.
Onlookers are now wondering how the south moves forward and Hansen would start by losing an Australian franchise.
“A maximum of four would make it better, and that’s when Australian rugby was really strong. They had three sides that were competitive every weekend in Super Rugby, which was forcing us to get better ourselves,” he told The Platform.
“We are missing having South Africa in that, and that style of game. Maybe bringing back the Argentinians would be good too.”
Hansen insists that it is time the powers-that-be stop putting personal pride above the needs of the sport, otherwise he believes that rugby union will keep declining in popularity, especially in Australia.
Not giving an inch
“There are one or two things that get in the way. One is our ego of, ‘I don’t want to give up a team.’ We saw Australia try to do that with Western Force, who dug their toes in, and they had nowhere to go,” he said.
“At some point we have to say to ourselves, ‘right, this is what’s going to be best for our game.’ We have to break down the barriers that are stopping us from doing that.
“In Australian sport, the biggest barrier is these states; no one wants to give an inch. If we’re not prepared to give an inch, we’re going to lose a mile at the top end.
“Australian rugby’s got a problem because it’s not producing players or coaches that can play and coach at that level.”
Another issue for the World Cup-winning head coach is improving their pathways and finding ways of helping their young players develop.
“Now that we don’t have South Africa playing, how do we find that competition? What are we doing with our U20s and how do we get them more games?” he said.
“What the northern hemisphere have done well is developing their U20 players and they’re winning World Cups. They play a Six Nations, and they’re mirroring what they’re doing at a higher level.
“That’s giving young guys a whole lot of experience. Our guys aren’t getting that and I know New Zealand Rugby are looking at certain things they want to do.
“All this costs money and that’s another big stumbling block. Australia don’t have any, and we don’t have an awesome amount of it either, but we’ve got to prioritise what’s really, really going to help us get to that level we need to be at to be number one.
Any way back for Super Rugby?
Hansen says that all is not lost, however, and believes that the southern hemisphere can rise once again, with Super Rugby can becoming the standard bearer.
“It has been in the past, so there’s no reason why it can’t be again in the future, but I think we’d all agree at the moment, it’s not the competition we need it to be,” he added.
“We have to find a willingness to work together within the country and across the countries to come up with some solutions. That’s been the stumbling block so far.”