Steve Hansen reveals what he thinks cost the All Blacks in RWC semi-final

Hmm, whether or not I agree that Mounga was terrible, that’s completely irrelevant to what I said. Barrett has really struggled against rush defences for years, and Mo’unga has more success at unlocking them. If Mo’unga was ‘terrible’ (and it is if) the reality is that Barrett was likely to be worse. And if you’ll rewatch the match, despite playing at fullback Barrett really struggled against the rush defence. I don’t think either of them should have played necessarily. Crotty has been better than SBW in recent years, although you could argue SBW might have been the better tactical call. Smith was out of form and injured all season, Barrett was a much better call at fullback. Arguably Smith should have been on the wing, however, and he definitely should have been ahead of at least Jordie Barrett. But New Zealand lost this match in the forwards. They got done up front.

Absolute nonsense ! Mounga was terrible in that game. I notice you still agree not having SBW at 12 and Smith at 15 was a massive blunder by Hansen.

As an outsider I admired the attitude of Steven Hansen and the fire of Kieran Reid who I thought looked so much the part of the fearless leader - while I was ecstatic about the Springboks win I am still sorry that Hanson won't get his Knighthood and they will forever be known as the two who couldn't win the winnable trophy!

If you’re suggesting that selecting Barrett at 10 against a strong rush defence would have won it for the All Blacks I suggest you should perhaps watch Barrett against more rush defences.

Clickbait but I'll bite. Seriously???? :laughing:

I think the damage was done in Perth, this edged the door open a little for an aged and tired group. I said to my Kiwi mates that if you win the Bledisloe, you lose the World Cup. Normal transmission was resumed and the Wallabies lost again, and the ABs conveniently ignored Perth. I really think if the Wallabies won the Blesisloe in NZ, the ABs would have been a different beast, at least mentally. I would love to see the alternative universe where that happened... likely the same result but would be interesting!

Fair comment Pinetree, but from my side the harsh truth of WC knockouts is that has become solely about tight 5 dominance. That is very different from Superugby or even The Rugby Championship. On that score England with Itoje leading the charge absolutely smashed NZ. They were on the back foot entire game… The Boks won because they did not just have a quality tight five, they had a quality tight 11. England were just not able to do that.not sure what mix you had on the backs against England would have helped.

Really good comment mate, totally agree. I feel like from 2016-18 the AB selectors were too conservative and unwilling to innovate. Then, after an average 2018 against South Africa, England and Ireland coupled with the Perth Bledisloe, the coaches pinched a bit and tried to innovate all at once. They just left it too late I think.

Even us Aussies beat them twice in 2017 and 2019.Ultimately just a poorly selected and coached NZ team.

Picking dud players like ALB and J Barrett lost it for you Hansen. SBW and Smith should have been starting. Mounga is also a poor test player. 10 B Barrett 12 SBW 15 B Smith you would have won it.

Can’t see the video, but if the excuse is because the AB’s ‘relaxed’, then I agree that was not the case. Cane and Crotty not starting was the mistake, and not matching the English forwards in the breakdown, which Cane would’ve made a difference being the best tackler the ABs have, and dominant tackles can make a big difference if getting turnover opportunities, and putting the opposition on the back foot. . S Barrett was a poor choice as a 6, and Whitelock was disappointing with his discipline, giving away a rare opportunity for the ABs to score. . To say that the ABs were too relaxed seems to take credit away from the tenacious effort of England somewhat too. England brought a game that was tactically superior on the day, both in selection and tactical game plan, and agree that the ABs never found the secret code for the rush defence when the pressure was on.

Agree that we sacrificed a lot of experience. I think the 2 biggest mistakes were Cane and Crotty not starting. I think Ben Smith's form was down from previous years, and even though Smith had a good game in the bronze medal playoff, it was justified that BB was put in FB ahead of Smith, although Smith could have played wing, but then again Reece and Bridge were playing well too. Smith should have been ahead of J Barrett on the bench though. Don't agree that BB was played out of position, and I thought that Mo'unga needed to be brought in much earlier. BB has always struggled with the rush defence at 10 from the Crusaders, the Ireland team, the BIL, and it would've been the same with the rush defence from England in the SF. BB also has a weaker territory kicking game than Mo'unga. Can't see how BB playing 10 against England would've strengthened our position with their rush defence. I think Taylor/Coles was a 50/50 call, as Taylor has a better set piece game, where Coles is better in the loose game, and Coles still hadn't showed the same form he was showing before his injury. Agree Franks experience would've been valuable .

Agreed TimO. Some of the selections & game plans over the last four years were a complete departure from the four years preceding.

They lost because Steve Hanson stayed on too long as coach. He started believing his own press. He then started making maverick selections, inspired by hubris. The same trap that John Hart and John Mitchell had fallen into. Would you have given away McCaws experience, to go with a younger Sam Cane, in 2015? Of course not. So, in 2019, why did ABs have Ben Smith, Ryan Crotty left out, BB out of position, Cane and Coles not starting and Franks left at home??!!. That was talent and experience that could have coped with England.

Jerome Garces ‘take a bow’

I don’t think the All Blacks lost because they relaxed, but because they weren’t good enough. From the 2016 loss to Ireland through the Lions series and ultimately through to the World Cup we saw that the All Blacks didn’t have what it took to beat the best rush defences, despite the claims of a grand plan