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All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen says his focus is firmly on the Rugby World Cup final and not on the top job afterwards.
A New Zealand victory over France in Auckland on Sunday night would make Hansen the hot favourite to take over from Graham Henry as head coach, but he says it’s not something he’s thinking about right now.
What he’s concentrating on is helping the All Blacks clinch the World Cup.
“At the moment, that’s the only thing I’m thinking about,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“I don’t really care what happens after Sunday night. All I’m focusing on is trying to get a team ready to turn up to win.”
While there were long-term goals and shot-term goals, “right now the narrow short-term ones are the primary focus”.
After the All Blacks crashed out at the quarter-final stage at the 2007 tournament, Henry and assistants Hansen and Wayne Smith saw off a challenge from present Wallabies coach Robbie Deans to be reappointed.
Hansen says coaches are like everyday people and are not immune from mistakes.
“But when you are smart enough to learn from them, then you grow,” he said.
“I think, as a group, we’ve grown. We’ve learnt a lot about the tournament last time.”
He says it was probably not a coincidence that, having been given a repeat shot by the NZRU, the trio had been more successful this time around.
One difference he points to is a better leadership model, with a shared partnership between the players’ leadership group and management.
“Everybody has taken ownership of the team.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.