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Hansen: 'If it was the All Blacks, they'd probably be called chokers'

Johnny Sexton of Ireland looks dejected after the Rugby World Cup 2019 (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

Steve Hansen, the former All Blacks head coach, believes Grand Slam winning Ireland still have to prove they are no longer World Cup “chokers” when they attempt to lift the trophy in France later this year.

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Ireland have never reached the Cup semi-finals and while Hansen acknowledges they deserve to be ranked No1, previous performances on the biggest stage in the game are a factor.

Hansen, a two-time winner of the tournament in 2015 (head coach) and 2011 (assistant coach) with the All Blacks, said: “They’re going well, ranked number one in the world, and they’ve had a great year so far.

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“Every time a team is number one in the world, you’ve got to consider them to be a World Cup contender – but it’s a tough tournament to win, and they were number one going into the last one, weren’t they? So, they’ve seemed to struggle a little bit at World Cups. If it was the All Blacks, they’d probably be called ‘chokers’.

“Ireland were good throughout the Six Nations. In that final game they started off a bit shaky and England rattled them a bit, but once the red card came it was game over and they were good enough to take advantage of it.

“But they’ve come a long way, they believe in themselves, and they’re a very good side, so they’re definitely a contender. But they’ll have to overcome the pressure of not having gone past the quarter-finals before, and there’ll be a lot of pressure involved in that.

“If they get through to the semi-finals, then they’re in new territory. That’s something they’ll have to deal with that they’ve never dealt with before, and it’s always hard to deal with something you haven’t dealt with before.”

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Hansen is preparing to return to the test arena in charge of the World XV to take on Eddie Jones’ Barbarians side at Twickenham on Sunday 28 May (kick-off 3pm). Hansen sees the failure of England and Wales in the Six Nations as offering Jones and Wayne Pivac the chance to say “It wasn’t just the coaches, was it?’”

Jones was dumped by England with Steve Borthwick taking over with England finishing fourth in the table with just two wins while Pivac made way for Warren Gatland’s return to the Welsh job which saw him deliver just one win with a fifth-place finish.

Hansen said: “It’s an interesting time. The two coaches who got sacked from England and Wales (Eddie Jones and Wayne Pivac) will be looking back thinking, ‘well, there you go. It wasn’t just the coaches, was it?’”

However, Hansen is backing Borthwick to make England a difficult team to beat at the World Cup adding: “England are still England; they can still pop up and they’ve got plenty of talent.

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“Steve’s finding his way, both with his athletes and as a coach at international level, but they won’t be happy with how they’ve gone during the Six Nations. Early in the game against Ireland they played well, and if they take that sort of form into the World Cup, they’ll be a hard team to beat.

“Steve’s a smart enough man to drive his own bus, but nothing is an easy fix. He’s just got to take his time and do it the way he wants to do it.

“If it works, then he can take a bow, and if it doesn’t work, then he still knows he’s done it his way. The worst thing would be if he gets pressured into doing it another way which isn’t his, it fails and then he suffers the consequences.

“He needs to just be himself. It’s always a privilege to coach your country – every day in that role is a great day to be alive and to be enjoying the challenge of Test rugby.”

General admission tickets for the blockbuster Barbarian F.C. vs World XV clash are on sale now from www.ticketmaster.co.uk/barbarians at the early-bird price of just £25* for Adults and £15* for Under-16s.

For a 10% discount on groups of ten or more, please visit www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/events. Hospitality packages are available to purchase from £299 per person via www.twickenhamstadium.com.

*booking fees apply

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4 Comments
H
HardYakka 684 days ago

Doesn't matter how good you are, winning 3 must-win KO games in a row against top tier test teams in WC is a massive ask that will generally require a little luck and rub of the refereeing green at some point. You only need to lose one to miss out. Ireland look the most likely to do that but that means ... not a lot... France, NZ, SA, can all win a game against them on their day. Makes for an exciting cup.

D
DarstedlyDan 686 days ago

Hmm. As a Kiwi, that is a bit of a dickish comment by Hansen, who for some reason always seems to have a chip on his shoulder. Everyone I’ve spoken to agrees that Ireland are super impressive at the moment and will be tough to beat. Period.

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RedWarrior 4 hours ago
The reason given by Steve Borthwick for latest England setback

So England are allowed to have a tsunami whinge fest about the ref but if an Irish fan points out that some decisions hurt Ireland also they are being petulant.

Honestly some English supporters are all politeness until they lose then the claws and fangs come out.

Ok here we go, not complaints just pointing out where England got away with roul play:

1: M Smiths headbutt on James Lowe that started the fracas with Stewart. If the ref spots that in time then thats a second yellow if not a straight red for Smith. Probably worth another 14 points with England gassed so a 41-10 final scoreline?

2: Itoje's several stamps on Hansens instep in a clear attempt to damage metatarsals. Straight red or if he is lucky, 10 in the bin.

3. Currys block on Baird to create a gap that Smith used to break the line. Penalty and possession for Ireland deep in England 22 with score at 0:0.

4: The correct decision for the Cunningham South dangerous tackle was a yellow. Lowe blew it by confronting him. The ref didn't give South or Lowe a yellow. The ref couldn't give Lowe a yellow anyway as the TMO would have informed him that m Smith alone started the previosu fracas and its not unreasonable for a player to react to being headbutted.


One last thing missing from English analysis

How is coming over to Dublin acting like you own the place, committing filthy cowardly off the ball cheap shots working out for you? I mean you clearly dont care that we think your team are a crowd of a$$holes but...... rugby wise, how is riling the Irish team to focus and get the best out of themselves against such unpleasant opposition working for you on the scoreboard?


Food for thought old boy!!!!

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