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Hansen set to head north and raid the Waratahs en route - reports

New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen. Photo / Getty Images

Rugby World Cup-winning head coach Steve Hansen’s future has been heavily speculated on for the last few years.

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The 59-year-old confirmed last year that he will leave his role with the All Blacks after the RWC, having led them to triumph in 2015, as well as having been an assistant coach when the side won the 2011 edition of the tournament.

He has been linked with multiple roles in Europe, including the England and France head coaching positions, as well as roles off the field in New Zealand, and it looks as if a move north may materialise, albeit in a slightly different direction.

According to a report in Australia’s Daily Telegraph, Hansen is being lined up by Japanese Top League club Toyota Verblitz to be their new director of rugby.

Verblitz are no stranger to RWC-winning coaches, with the team currently guided by South African Jake White, but the success that White has enjoyed in several of his previous tenures has eluded him in Japan. Verblitz finished 4th in the Top League last season and have never won the competition in its current guise.

The club have already announced the signings of Kieran Read and Willie le Roux for next season, with those two stars of the game set to join the likes of Jason Jenkins and Gio Aplon in Toyota, as well as a number of prominent Japanese internationals such as Male Sa’u, Jamie Henry, Katia Shigeno and Kazuki Himeno.

Verblitz’s eagerness to invest heavily is not just aimed at the playing squad and the director of rugby position, either, with the Daily Telegraph report also stating that Simon Cron, an assistant coach at the Waratahs, is being targeted by the Japanese side.

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Cron has got the Waratahs’ scrum success in Super Rugby up over 90% this season, as well as helping them to the fourth-most efficient lineout in the competition, and is highly-prized by a number of teams. He previously coached the Australian U20 team, before taking up his current role with the Waratahs.

If Verblitz can lure both Hansen and Cron to Toyota, alongside Read and le Roux on the pitch, it would represent yet another milestone in the growth and emergence of the Top League as a major player in world rugby.

Watch: The deadline for the Nations Championship has been extended

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AM 41 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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