Time for Hansen to go. . .

"All for one and one for all." So went the catch-cry of the The Three Musketeers, a catch-cry that could so easily have been applied to the tightness surrounding the All Blacks' coaching triumvirate, Messer's Henry, Hansen and Smith.

But wait. A split may well be on the cards. Apparently, the smart money says that Musketeer Hansen may well want out.

There's no doubt that Steve "Shag" Hansen was the biggest loser of the three after the debacle at Cardiff in 2007.

That's because if the All Blacks had won, Chief Musketeer Henry would have handed in his sword and Hansen would have been a sure-fire bet as his successor.

But that was not to be. Hansen's nightmare began as soon as Henry was gifted what will now certainly be another four years in charge.

Hansen attempted to break the monotony of being the All Blacks' second coach off the rank by applying to be the head coach of the Crusaders.

But not even his good mate, Steve Tew could swing that for him and thankfully, sanity prevailed and his application was declined.


So now, two years out from the next World Cup, Hansen is faced with a difficult dilemma at the end of this year.

Do I hang on to 2011 to face the ultimate oblivion of all of being an assistant All Black coach to lose at two consecutive World Cups?

Or do I gamble on first winning the damn thing and then having to line up with what will be a staunch lot of head-coach aspirants that could well include my biggest foe, one Robbie Deans?

And so to my major contention in this blog.

I quite frankly would like to see Hansen go and for no malicious a reason whatsoever.

First, I can understand how strongly he must now feel to further his career as a head coach.

If for no other reason, than it must have been acutely frustrating to have copped as much flak as he did as part of the fall-out after the Cardiff nightmare, but have to keep deferring to his boss, Graham Henry for the next four years.

As opposed to Wayne Smith who has clearly articulated that he has no real desire to coach at national level again, ambition still burns fiercely within Steve Hansen.

Next, in the best interests of the plight of our men in black, I reckon a new coach to join Henry and Smith would be a welcome outcome for a couple of reasons.

It would inevitably go a long way to eliminate any staleness that exists amongst the current trio.

Plus it would also play a significant part in soothing the considerable disquiet that still frustrates those fans who demanded some change after Cardiff.

And I for one, don't accept that the two obvious, home-based candidates for the job, namely Ian Foster and Colin Cooper aren't up to fulfilling such a role.

The glowing form of their respective teams, the Chiefs and the Hurricanes is sufficient testimony to their maturity as highly-skilled coaches.

Agree or disagree, please let me know your thoughts.

YOUR COMMENTS

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basilbrown@rocketmail.com - posted May 11 03:26 pm
I agree. Time for at least one of them to go and Hansen looks like it. It won't only blow away the staleness in their set-up but will stop the boredom of the All Blacks having to listen to the same ol blah from the same ol threesome. My choice would be Foster, a coach who despite the bad press he gets, really has the respect of the players in the Chiefs.
lornaandneil - posted May 11 03:30 pm
Must have to agree with you. He certainly is not a Laurie mains who also was a back who coahched forwards. Our forward pack has obviously been a weak link for a while. Just in case one disagrees do they not have a scrum coach and did they not bring in Robin Brooke for Lineouts. The guy does not rate and only got in there because he was a mate of Henry's. In two years one could look at a threesome of deans,Gatland and Plumtree and that idea should be looked at.
Yes i do believe hansen shoul
tanco@xtra.co.nz - posted May 11 04:48 pm
What! I believe all three coaches should go and leave the ABs in peace.
tup_pence@xtra.co.nz - posted May 11 05:21 pm
If he does go,what is available for him?I don`t think he(as assistant coach)can be blamed for the failure in 2007,that falls on Henry`s shoulders.I would hope that he can get a meaningful coaching role somewhere.In 2011,win or lose he would struggle for the Head Coach position.
haydenjshaw - posted May 11 06:05 pm
Loraandneil are you taking the p-ss? Our forward pack has been our weaklink? The lineout was rubbish for a while yes but no where else in the forwards have we been weak in the past few years. I agree that if he left it would bring freshness into the coaching and also gives him a chance on his own but at the same time they are doing pretty well so why change? I guess it is just up to what Hansen wants in the long term.
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