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

11 - 15 of 16 Entries
< Previous Page  |
1  |
2  |
3  |
4  |
Next Page >
kxt@xtra.co.nz - posted May 14 11:12 am
yeah, right! bowwowguy52. And your point of arguement was what exactly?
ap214 - posted May 14 04:35 pm
Foster is a backs coach so rule him out as a replacement. Deans-Gatland-Plumtree?? Two forwards coaches in that lot, also two and a half head coaches. So that's no good either. Does anyone actually know anything who writes on this? What are the Man in the Stand's rugby credentials? Never seems to offer anything other than sweeping generalised criticisms of Henry.
morrowguy52 - posted May 14 09:23 pm
Don't know why it's my job to defend MITS except for meatheads like ap214 who really do need a big serve. Head coaches today need to be conversant with all skills, be it back or forward coaching. Henry is essentially a defence specialist who also can coach any skill. Laurie Mains was a full-back who in Sean Fitzpatrick's words, became the best forward coach he played under. Foster has obviously groomed his forwards as well as his backs. You obviously have no appreciation of modern da
morrowguy52 - posted May 14 09:28 pm
...coaching ap 214, so best you pull your head in and do some home work. I'd say 50% of rugby fans here still think Henry is not up to it. I bet you have your doubts as well.
billy.royal@xtra.co.nz - posted May 16 03:35 pm
Who is The MITS?....with all the henry and co bashing he's delivered over the years, I'll wager it's none other then Deans himself!
Post a comment
11 - 15 of 16 Entries
< Previous Page  |
1  |
2  |
3  |
4  |
Next Page >

 
To post a new comment, you must Sign in first.

YAHOO!XTRA SPORTS:

ALSO ON YAHOO!XTRA:


Search:
Advertise with us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Help
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! All rights reserved.
Yahoo!Xtra: A Yahoo!7/Telecom New Zealand Company.