Steve Hansen extends contract

Billy Tell

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="600051" data-time="1469420925">
Laurie Mains' 95-97 team is one of the best sides i have ever seen. Seems like he did an alright job then, both selecting and coaching. Unless a donkey could have selected that team and coached it...</blockquote>
 
We all get old eventually and dementia sets in.

mariner4life

ok i am so fucking lost
 
wait, got it. wow. how fucking retarded from me. jesus.
 
<img src="http://s13.postimg.org/8qan2v2br/self_facepalm.jpg" alt="self_facepalm.jpg">

MN5

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="600096" data-time="1469429756">
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ok i am so fucking lost
 
wait, got it. wow. how fucking retarded from me. jesus.
 
<img src="http://s13.postimg.org/8qan2v2br/self_facepalm.jpg" alt="self_facepalm.jpg">
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</blockquote>
 
Easy mistake to make to be fair.
 
Here's a photo of Laurie Mains for future reference.
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj1x_P2hY7OAhVDFZQKHf9aCTkQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmegomuseum.com%2Fcommunity%2Fshowthread.php%3F76147-Puppet-Making-Thunderbirds-Parker&psig=AFQjCNEV9Ft1qi0cSsE4ce4B8ujICvdPog&ust=1469516508984339'><img height="393" src="http://i.imgur.com/oKZzQ.jpg" width="271" alt="oKZzQ.jpg"></a>

crusadersfan

Best news I have had this year, couldn't they have made it 2029 instead.
 
Think I am going to more distraught when he finishes up than when Richie and DC called it a day.

Nepia

I'm not sure what the issue is here, M4L is correct - that really was Mains' team that Hart took over and had initial success with ....
 
(He even had Cullen on standby for the French tour).

MN5

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="600142" data-time="1469440388">
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I'm not sure what the issue is here, M4L is correct - that really was Mains' team that Hart took over and had initial success with ....
 
(He even had Cullen on standby for the French tour).
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</blockquote>
By that dubious logic it's not Hansen's team, it's Henry's......

gollum

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="MN5" data-cid="600145" data-time="1469440963">
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By that dubious logic it's not Hansen's team, it's Henry's......
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And Mains team was Grizz's
 
The bits of it that worked 92-94 certainly were (Brooke, Fitzy, Jones, Fox, Little, Timu, Jones, Loe)
 
Mains was an outstanding coach, but a terrible selector. So many terrible players got randomly capped under him, then discarded. Guys got played out of position, good players got axed for no reason, he was awful. Once he got the right team, seemingly via a random selection luck methods he coached them wonderfully, but jeez he should never have been selecting.
 
Greg Cooper is a great 15 & Matt is a great 13! Timu is a wing! Little at 10! Whoops, Gregs shithouse! Matts a 15! Nope Matts a 12! Is Foxy still around cause Little is very much not a 10. Timu's a fullback! Eric Rush is a wing! Nope Eric Rush can fuck off! Marc Ellis is a wing! Nope a 10!!! Hell nope, maybe a 13? Whats Blair Larsen? Could he be a wing?
 
The Hansen era is almost a polar opposite, very few pig average blokes called up on a hunch, guys played in position, caps very hard to come by etc.

sparky

Great news, Hansen is the best coach at the moment in any sport for me. His record in terms of trophies, the style his team plays in and the manner they conduct themselves off the park have been outstanding 
The critics if they don't rate him, they don't know shit. Hansen manages to keep superb sportsmen with their feet on the ground and gives them huge confidence and gets them working as a united team year after year. Tactically he seems a step or two ahead of the more fashionable coaches most of the time too. No small achievement and it speaks volumes for Hansen's vision, intellect, determination, willingness to learn and integrity.

Nepia

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="MN5" data-cid="600145" data-time="1469440963">
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By that dubious logic it's not Hansen's team, it's Henry's......
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We have to wait for it to go pear shaped first ....

No Quarter

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="sparky" data-cid="600155" data-time="1469442128">Great news, Hansen is the best coach at the moment in any sport for me. His record in terms of trophies, the style his team plays in and the manner they conduct themselves off the park have been outstanding 
The critics if they don't rate him, they don't know shit. Hansen manages to keep superb sportsmen with their feet on the ground and gives them huge confidence and gets them working as a united team year after year. Tactically he seems a step or two ahead of the more fashionable coaches most of the time too. No small achievement and it speaks volumes for Hansen's vision, intellect, determination, willingness to learn and integrity.</blockquote>
Although many of your posts over-egg all things ABs, this post is spot on. Hansen is setting the standard as a coach/manager across all sports. There's a word for people that don't rate him, and it starts with E.

Bovidae

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="600142" data-time="1469440388">
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I'm not sure what the issue is here, M4L is correct - that really was Mains' team that Hart took over and had initial success with ....
</div>
</blockquote>
 
As gollum said, 1992-94 was painful at times, mainly due to poor selections. And he didn't even mention the selection fuck-ups at halfback where Bachop was replaced by Strachan, Preston and finally Forster before bingo let's pick Bachop again in 1994.
 
I think that because of the 1995 RWC Mains' tenure is looked on more favourably than it should be. The ABs might have played the best at that tournament but then proceeded to lose to France later in the year.

gollum

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Bovidae" data-cid="600166" data-time="1469445338">
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fuck-ups at halfback where Bachop was replaced by Strachan, Preston and finally Forster before bingo let's pick Bachop again in 1994.
 
 
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Oh god I'd forgotten 9.
 
Jeysus he was an abomination as a selector.

canefan

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="No Quarter" data-cid="600160" data-time="1469442622">
<div>
Although many of your posts over-egg all things ABs, this post is spot on. Hansen is setting the standard as a coach/manager across all sports. There's a word for people that don't rate him, and it starts with E.
</div>
</blockquote>
Ediot?

kiwiinmelb

I heard Ted in an interview discuss his coaching career, and said in the earlier part of his international coaching ,Wales , Lions and earlier part of the ABs he tended to the dictator , telling everyone this is how we are going to do it, But believed he became better when he started to give others, particularly the players , more input into how things should be done

Frye

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="canefan" data-cid="600185" data-time="1469451753">
Ediot?</blockquote>
 
Envy? 
Just plain old denial mostly though I think. If you're an opposition supporter and you've just read that Hansen is staying on till the World Cup, it's probably natural to want to believe that he isn't a key cog in the All Blacks success. 
Of course once he retires, then the plaudits will start rolling in, along with how the All Blacks are now fvcked.

rotated

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="kiwiinmelb" data-cid="600192" data-time="1469457901">
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I heard Ted in an interview discuss his coaching career, and said in the earlier part of his international coaching ,Wales , Lions and earlier part of the ABs he tended to the dictator , telling everyone this is how we are going to do it, 
But believed he became better when he started to give others, particularly the players , more input into how things should be done
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</blockquote>
 
Wasn't it more that he abandoned the profanity laden rev up speeches before the game after Tana asked him why he bothered with them?
 
A lot of it has to do with the cattle on the field and the coaching team off the field that he has to work with. He had to be a dictator in Wales as he had limited on field leadership, no established culture and limited assistants. Ditto with the Lions where his assistants were largely political appointments (Larder who went on to be the England defensive coach for their 2002-3 peak is the only decent one) - but if you watch Living with the Dragons and Living with the Lions you can see he definitely is more empowering and hands off than with Wales - he handed a lot of stuff he typically did with Auckland/Wales to Donal Lenihan - especially when it came to motivation etc.
 
He's also talked publicly that the team culture in 2004 was an absolute shambles. If Ted had have come in and handed the reigns immediately over to the Marshall/Mehrtens/Thorne/Mauger leadership group it would have been a disaster. Only when they had set some standards and got the right people on the bus did they start transitioning to the model we have today.
 
I'm still not sure why other countries don't look at the NZ coaching model, rather than the individuals. Get a couple of White, Penny, Meyer, McKensie, Russell, Pivac - even Deans and let them work together and sharpen each other - rather than getting one, then saddling them with inexperienced/unproven assistants and labelling them the messiah. Look at what Cotter/Schmidt were able to do together in European club rugby as a pair. When Eddie Jones and Jake White hooked up in 2007 it took SA to the next level. Wayne Smith and Dave Rennie linked up and completely changed the Chiefs in a season. There is so much quality coaching out there if an outfit like Ireland/Wales/Scotland were able to add one of those guys to their ranks as an assistant they would be immeasurably more threatening. The unions just have to pony up head coach money for an assistant.

Mick Gold Coast QLD

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="600015" data-time="1469414217">
<div>
Just because I like the phrase, shouldn't it be "Knowing what you don't know"?
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</blockquote>
 
This notion was summarised:
 
"In February 2002, Donald Rumsfeld, the then US Secretary of State for Defence, stated at a Defence Department briefing: 'There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know."
 
The intelligentsia and the cognoscenti giggled like girls at this, seizing yet another opportunity to "Get George Bush, what a dope!" instead of listening, reflecting and understanding that it made sense.

nzzp

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mick Gold Coast QLD" data-cid="600212" data-time="1469477127">
<div>
This notion was summarised:
 
"In February 2002, Donald Rumsfeld, the then US Secretary of State for Defence, stated at a Defence Department briefing: 'There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know."
 
The intelligentsia and the cognoscenti giggled like girls at this, seizing yet another opportunity to "Get George Bush, what a dope!" instead of listening, reflecting and understanding that it made sense.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
 
I think it was 
 
"There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."

Frye

Look, we don't know if Mick has copious amounts of LSD in his house, but we don't know if he doesn't either. I say we go in there and have a look around just to be sure.

Mick Gold Coast QLD

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Milk" data-cid="599988" data-time="1469410202">
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He's certainly not held in high regard on the international rugby podcasts I listen to. Understandable seeings as I very rarely like other international coaches who aren't shy of having a dig either.
 
I think the consensus overseas is that a donkey could coach the All Blacks to a World Cup and he doesn't deserve the plaudits he gets. I strongly disagree. The All Blacks head coach needs to create an environment that the best players in the world crave being a part of, and will spurn significant cash offers while pursuing it. You've also got to manage selections so the next tier and the recently dropped don't fly the coup when they also get large offers to play overseas too.
 
Finally, maintaining consistency of performance and a culture of constant improvement when you head into most games as an unbackable favourite is very tough. A lot of teams know they have to play the game of their life to beat the All Blacks, which is the challenge for them. However, equally challenging is the knowledge that you don't have to play the game of your life to beat the opposition, and yet somehow not get complacent.
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="rotated" data-cid="600013" data-time="1469413688">
<div>
100%
 
I made this point a lot in the Henry vs Deans debate - who is the better one man coach is a irrelevant in today's international rugby scene. It is about the entire coaching structure - and Henry and now Hansen know what they don't know and make sure they have the smartest guys around filling those slots. Henry went to the interview in 2003 with Smith and Hansen (and Lochore as a selector) up his sleeve on the table - he gets it. In 2007 Deans brought nothing but a vague suggestion of Pat Lam and then didn't even demand selecting his assistants when he got the Aussie gig.
 
Same thing with Hansen, the guy is more of a general manager than a coach these days. Unlike most other international coaches who feel a compulsion to be the smartest guy in the room (and tell you about it in the case of Cheika and Jones) Hansen will readily admit he isn't even top 3 in the AB set up.
 
Not knowing what you don't know is a rare skill in an ego driven profession like this.
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</blockquote>
 
One can have the good fortune of witnessing so many marvellous moments in sport - the excellence of PelÃ© in soccer, Reg Gasnier in full flight, Kingston Town and Black Caviar (and her great grandfather, Vain, when I was twenty â€“ Golden Slipper by four lengths and the Champagne Stakes by ten!) Australia under the demanding great Chappelli, the West Indies under the fearsome Clive Lloyd, the calm temperament of Jack Nicklaus and the ease with which he won and won and won.
 
Then there are the longer term successes one can marvel at year after year as they unfold, which serve as comparison in the instant matter â€“ Warren Ryan, who had much to do with shaping my life, winning 56% of his games as coach, Jack Gibson 62%, Wayne Bennett 62% and Craig Bellamy 66%.
 
We can see Sir Grahamâ€™s 85% was quite extraordinary but then Hansen blitzes it with 91%. To have a team which is that good to perform that much better is simply phenomenal.
 
Sparky assesses Steve Hansen eloquently, accurately at 8:22pm yesterday:
 
â€œHansen manages to keep superb sportsmen with their feet on the ground and gives them huge confidence and gets them working as a united team year after year.
Tactically he seems a step or two ahead of the more fashionable coaches most of the time too. No small achievement and it speaks volumes for Hansen's vision, intellect, determination, willingness to learn and integrity.â€
 
From rotated at 3:18 am (writing about Sir Graham) we have an insight into the morass which the head coach must wade through at this level before even thinking about Saturdayâ€™s game:
 
â€œA lot of it has to do with the cattle on the field and the coaching team off the field that he has to work with. He had to be a dictator in Wales as he had limited on field leadership, no established culture and limited assistants. Ditto with the Lions where his assistants were largely political appointments (Larder who went on to be the England defensive coach for their 2002-3 peak is the only decent one) ...
 He's also talked publicly that the team culture in 2004 was an absolute shambles.â€
 
Further from rotated:
 
â€œI'm still not sure why other countries don't look at the NZ coaching model, rather than the individuals.â€
 
That model reminds me of a marvelous career in evil oil and coal, under the guidance of the invariably educated, thoughtful, charming, confident, capable and understated old money gentlemen who ran the show in Dallas. They dealt with their executives as equals, without grand inspirational speeches and framed mantras mounted in the foyer, and granted both responsibility and authority to act â€“ that is, they chose wisely and trusted the people they had surrounded themselves with. A notable characteristic was their ability to state â€œPerhaps I am wrong, what you recommend looks to me to be a better wayâ€ and â€œI understand your advice however I am going to go down another path and this is why ... .â€ I think the apt description is â€œcollegiateâ€ where every individual relies on the others safe in the knowledge that the ego driven narcissist isnâ€™t going to get a start, let alone a look in.
 
I believe Hansen is acutely aware his success didnâ€™t just happen â€“ it commenced long ago and he attributes it in no small part to the things he has learned from older, wiser men. Further, he is prepared to entertain and accommodate new ideas and practices which require a change in his previous thinking â€“ even young blokes have great difficulty with that. He has continued the practices of the triumvirate, of skilled individuals each doing their work under the guidance of a focused, taciturn and dispassionate leader. Not as â€œco-captainâ€ though, the modern nonsense of pretending everyone around the table has equal standing, but as the boss.
 
Tew trusts Hansen to do his job without interference (see ARU vs Connolly, ARU vs McKenzie, ARU vs Deans etc) the unions trust what Hansen and his people craft with them about player development (see NSW vs ARU, QLD vs ARU, ACT vs ARU, Eastern Suburbs vs ARU, Randwick vs ARU ...) the coach trusts his specialists and the captain to concentrate on their tasks and to speak candidly about emerging problems, and he instinctively takes all responsibility.
 
I do enjoy the simplicity and credibility of the manner in which he expresses himself. It denotes a fellow who is self confident, able and uncomplicated in his view of the world.
 
"I love what the All Blacks are and the history that goes with them and the legacy they have created. ... I believe I can (improve as a coach) and I must"
 
Now I'm exhausted, I need a fix ... as a prescient Don Frye (above) would have you believe. :good1:

The Silver Fern

Steve Hansen extends contract