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Steve Hansen's claims that All Blacks were 'robbed' of World Cup shot down
By Henry Lee
Sir Steve Hansen has boldly claimed that the All Blacks were “robbed” in the 2023 World Cup final against the Springboks in Paris.
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Hansen, who coached the All Blacks to a World Cup win in 2015, left the All Blacks after the disappointing 2019 World Cup campaign that ended with a Bronze medal after losing to England in the semi-final.
The 65-year-old former All Blacks head coach had previously talked about the Sam Cane red card in the final, outlying his thoughts around how the All Blacks were unfortunate in Paris.
The comment came on the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin, where Hansen suggested the All Blacks were very unlucky to not have beaten the Springboks.
“This is a team that should have won the World Cup, they were robbed of the World Cup as far as I’m concerned with some poor decisions that were out of their control which cost them a World Cup,” Hansen said to Martin Devlin in an interview on the DSPN podcast.
Many fans have reacted to this comment around the world, believing Hansen is protecting his former assistant coach and last year’s All Blacks head coach Ian Foster.
Ian Foster is now the assistant coach under Steve Hansen at Toyota Verblitz in the Japan Rugby League one.
Oh come on – cut the crap..!! If they were undefeated post the World Cup, one might give Hansen’s argument some thought. But come on – this team lost twice in succession to SA post the World Cup, and also took losses from Argentina and France. Sit down Steve and give it a rest.
— Grant (@GrantBassingth1) December 9, 2024
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Large portions of South Africa rugby fans have been quick to shut down Hansen’s comments, which has created some added tension to the already heated rivalry from the comments made by the former All Blacks coach.
Robbed?Hanson should just shut it. He doesn’t even specify *how* they were robbed. All Blacks’ own poor discipline cost them that final. Discipline is one of the key skills for a team that needs to be practiced during training. And he forgot about WC 2011, it seems.👀 “Robbed”.😒
— Ashley Pieterse (@ashleykpieterse) December 9, 2024
There has been continuous discussion on social media regarding the close All Blacks 8-7 World Cup final victory over France at Eden Park in 2011, which also went down as a controversial final.
Other fans have discussed the other reasons for losing the 2023 World Cup final to the Springboks, highlighting the crucial missed kicks throughout the game from the All Blacks.
No no Mr Hansen, Mounga and Jordie Barret missed their crucial kicks, the Springboks Defence broke New Zealand, that is the difference. The Springboks were better on the day. pic.twitter.com/eSsfe08722
— Clibo One (@Clibo01) December 8, 2024
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Even the AB's try they did manage to score went forward... https://i.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExbm9rYW85Y3NwcGN6ZWhhNjlnMDlrem1xMWludHgyMmR1dG1yaWdrMCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/ZbKJhxkEaPGcO78aW3/giphy.gif
Hansen is just keeping up a Kiwi perfect record. I have read serious comments from various Kiwi personalities over the years which if accurate would have had the All Blacks winning every single World Cup since its inception.
The players blew it. They left 5 PTS behind down the home stretch and even won the red card period on the scoreboard. The boks helpfully stopped scoring PTS after 35 mins. Hardly a robbery.
I see he's still a grumpy old man
In the end, it’s not about whether you won or lost, but how you played the game. You can all be very proud of your teams efforts at the RWC final NZ. Very proud.
I hope this is helps you all feel better? There’s no use discussing this for 3 more years, is there?
Discuss.
The nobility of failure angle? Those brave All Blacks!
Rugbypass Writers Teams Call.
Topic: How do we get clicks before the 6 Nations starts in January.
Outline:
* The team discussed ways to keep readers engaged in Rugbypass articles given there was f-ckall else to talk about until January.
* Ben Smith apologized for being late for the call again. As he was just finishing off month-end. There was some debate as to whether Rugbypass couldn’t afford a full time accountant.
* A few suggestions were made by the writers on focusing on articles that would pit Kiwis and Saffas against each other since they were the vast majority of followers of Rugbypass articles.
* The conversation also touched on golf equipment and techniques, emphasizing the importance of consistent contact and proper swing mechanics.
Action Items:
* Keep bringing up what Hansen said to rile up Saffers and Kiwis.
* Maintain the approach of randomly selecting players on the “100 best list” to stoke the fires.
* Avoid any further articles about Rugby players transitioning. To NFL. As this was “losing the audience” although there was some skepticism as to whether World Rugby would notice losing readers as they don’t monitor the quality of articles anyway.
* Approach HR to determine whether a full-time writer could be recruited for in the new year, so that Ben Smith can focus on being a better bookkeeper.
OtterAi
Not sure why people bother? Nothing that is said or done changes the facts... and they are that SA are now at day 1865 as World Champs. Everything else is just speculation and good bar-conversation-ammo. As you were rugby fans of the world ;-) as you were.
Firstly SA are world champs and their form is on another level to everyone. NZ beaten in back to back tests in the rugby championship = case closed. Your reputation and prestige is well deserved and backed up by an excellent autumn tour.
However, let's concentrate on the accidental head contact = red card-draconian-gamechanger of a law that world rugby has now binned but not apologised for. They owe us an apology. They wrecked two world cups (men's and women's) with an instant death coin flip of a law that's left a sour taste in many fan's mouths. Air fare and accommodation for Kiwi fans travelling to Paris to follow their team would have cost thousands. It was a trip of a lifetime for midde class earners. Europeans considering trips to Australia for the next world cup simply wouldn't go if that law had stayed in place. World Rugby had to bin it, they need to apologise for it and they need to repair their reputation before fans decide to invest that heavily in a sport that's always had a stigma about its complicated laws.
The RFU's boss Bill Sweeney is going to be the subject of an extraordinary meeting called by England 2nd division within a week or so. He's going to be forced to resign for giving himself a massive bonus while laying off rfu employees to pay for it. That's accountability. Where is the accountability for World Rugby? Why can they bring in a heavy handed wrecking ball of a law the has a massive influence on two world cup finals and not be held to account? I support Steve Hansen because lots of people feel like World Rugby were inept and they could do exactly the same thing again because the damage they did has be covered up and swept under the carpet. Just apologise World Rugby. Show some courage and integrity.
Sorry mate but it isn't case closed. Those games were against vastly different teams. That world cup ABs side would've put away the 2024 Springboks without a doubt. Discuss all you like, I am NOT changing my mind.
"a law that world rugby has now binned but not apologised for." Incorrect. Check the law again. Regarding cards see my reply to Nickers. Either teach your players to avoid head contact or learn to play with 14 or less men. NZ do neither.
In any close game the losing side will always point back to this or that. If JB had nailed that kick and SA not scored again SA fans and pundits would have a long list of things that went against them.
Absolutely true... I still feel bitter about that try being called back, but the ref should've noticed the knock-on at the start, so it was the right call.
Fozzie is Steve's mate, he may also have been a very good AB assistant coach. Unfortunately he wasn't a very good head coach. The ABs had one really good performance (Vs Ireland) on their way to world cup final, a world cup in which I feel they over achieved compared to the 4 year cycle as a whole. Unfortunately Steve has made some pretty over the top comments about Fozzies ABs and is looking a bit silly while also seemingly resenting Razor for being the man in the frame when Fozzie was under pressure.
Well I think this is the real issue. I always took Hansen to be about the ABs. Not about the politics.
But he probably does believe that the ABs were robbed of the RWC. And he’s certainly not the only kiwi who believes that. So he’s human after all?
I just hope that he can let go of the deep chasm of loss he feels in his heart and heals soon. I wouldn’t want this to torment his soul for eternity.
I think another factor was that NZ super rugby sides were facing weak Australian super rugby teams and they missed the experience of facing teams like the Bulls and Sharks. It may not be a massive factor but in a world cup final when you're down to 14 players it's going to help South Africa and pressurise NZ.
I think they also had very good performances against Italy and Argentina, to be sure, but they were was so one sided nobody wants to include it. For my money, the ABs had built a very good side in the final run of the WC……but their ongoing ill-discipline issues were never really fixed and it was this that cost them in the final, truth be told.
Let's say for argument's sake, both Jordi and Richi did not miss their penalty and goal conversions and won the game, would the All Blacks and their fan base still cry about the result?
AB's lost that game because they did not take their chances. End of story!!!!! If you are such a great coach you should know this. Besides the AB's had two chances to correct those mistakes in the Rugby Championship....they didn't and lost again. So what does this all mean.....Simple!!!! It means you got beaten 4 times in a row (if you take the warmup game into account) by a superior Bok team. Two of those teams were understrength.
So what does this tell you about the psyche in NZ and NZ rugby?
1. NZ is graceful in victory, but can't replicate gracefulness in defeat. I am glad this is playing out in the open, the vail is coming off and NZ is getting exposed for the fakes they are and the whole world is watching. How bloody embarrassing.
2. With the AB's the blame always lay's with someone else, may it be the Ref, the crowd, the rules, the TMO, the cats the dogs, Russian interference, and Marsians. Gosh there is no shortage of excuses. But they will never look at themselves and what they doing wrong. Ignorance is bliss
At the end of the day NZ and NZ rugby are just bitter they are not the talking point and would say anything to stay relevant. Unfortunately, the Boks do their talking on the field, and the results show that.
As the saying goes Australia are gracious losers and terrible winners NZ visa versa.
They didn't though. NZ recieved a red card due to a law thats been binned by the same law makers who created it and NZ lost a world cup final because you won't beat that springbok 23 with only 14 men on the pitch. You can play that match a thousand times and the only thing that will change us the margin of the springbok's victory. Don't forget what SA did to NZ at Twickenham just before the world cup began.
If JB had nailed that last kick and SA went on to lose, I can guarantee SA fans and pundits would have a long list of grievances with the referee that cost them the game. Any loss with 7 can always be traced back to a single refereeing decision. It is the natural order of things.
Just a load of prejudicial nonsense. Go back to primary school.
Ridiculous comment from Bitter Hansen who conveniently forgets 2011!...France were blatantly cheated by incorrect decisions!...go back and review the game and subsequent outcry...and guess where Hansen was...obviously still trying to stay relevant.
Nothing to do with 2011. If we go down that route, we should also acknowledge how France were very fortunate in 2007 with referee decisions too. Circles and roundabouts. Where does this end? France were not worthy World Champions in 2011 - they hardly set the world alight in their form before or after the event - and the same is true of New Zealand in 2023. They were worthy finalists.
Hansen’s narrative is basically trying to aggrandise Foster’s record as a coach (again). The fact is, however, that the All Blacks didn’t just lose the WC. They also lost their first ever World Cup pool match (against France), suffered their heaviest ever loss (to South Africa), lost their first ever home series to Ireland, lost to Argentina for the first time and dropped to their lowest ever World Rugby Ranking (4th) since this was a thing. All of these put context to Foster’s full record - but we can still celebrate their successes too.
I felt that they worked hard to build a strategy to beat Ireland and saw significant development as a team after new coaches were brought in in 2022. They raised their game and gave the world a sense that they could still beat anybody on their day. However, winning the World Cup final was just one step too high. The result is the fact of the matter and the final reflection of how good they were under Foster during this period of time.